The Next Generation
by Animegoddess3
Summary: Well its all about what the title say. This story is about Dena Asuka, Meimi and Daiki Asuka's daughter COMPLETE(please excuse short prologue)
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Asuka Jr. and Meimi finally got married. Then one day, they had a daughter named, Dena. Dena takes after her parents a lot just like Meimi took over her parents. She had blue eyes, like Meimi, and long, green hair like Daiki (Asuka Jr.). Just like her grandmother, Fallen Angel, and her mother, Saint Tail, Dena also has a little secret identity. Only she is known as Dark Rosary. Now she is finishing where her Grandmother and Mother left off. Dena also has someone on her tail, trying to find her identity, a girl named Masami Tenkido. The only ones that know her true identity is her best friend Masahiro, who has a little crush on Dena, and of course her mother. What adventures are in store for Dena Asuka? You'll have to read to find out! 


	2. And so it begins

AU: Ok here is the first chapter, so tell me what u think. I'm sorry it took so long ^_^  
  
It was June 27th in the Asuka residence. Meimi was sitting peacefully in a quiet room, cradling something in her arms. Daiki had just walked in with a bottle in his hands and a bright smile on his face. Meimi lifted up the bundle of joy, and Daiki took it into his arms and gently placed the bottle into the baby's mouth. " You go rest now, Meimi. I'll take care of her for a while, so get some sleep," Daiki said to his tired wife.  
  
Meimi nodded her head and kissed him on the cheek. " Sweet dreams, my little Dena," she said, kissing the baby girl on the forehead.  
  
14 years later.  
  
" Dena, come on! We're going to be late for school again. I hate standing in the hall." That was what Dena's best friend Masahiro said practically every morning, or something similar to that. He and Dena had been best friends ever since they were babies since Masahiro was Manato Sawatori's son. Of course he was much more bright than his father. He always had a little crush on Dena.  
  
Dena was just about to go outside to meet Masahiro so they could finally get on their way to school, St. Paulia Academy. Once she put her shoes on, Masahiro gabbed her hand and started to run. " Hey, slow down! I can't keep up," Dena said panting.  
  
" I seriously don't want to be late, Dena! I have a deadline to meet for the school newspapers article. It wouldn't hurt to get up a little earlier so we could be on time for once," said Masahiro. He stopped so Dena could catch her breath.  
  
Dena sat down at the curb for a moment. " We're not always late," she said with a cute smile on her face. " Can't we slow down for just a little while, Masahiro?" she asked with puppy dog eyes.  
  
Masahiro had a light blush on his face. He took Dena's hand and helped her up. "We can slow down for a bit. There's no need to rush I guess," he said. Dena always got him with those eyes.  
  
They started to head across the busy street where Dena almost gets ran over practically every morning. This morning, though, they were lucky. No cars were passing by the street. They started to cross the street quickly and headed towards the school once more until they bumped into Masami Tenkido. "Oh look, the two love birds," she said with a big smirk on her face.  
  
You could see the big vain popping out if Dena's head. "Who are you calling love birds?!" she asked Tenkido.  
  
" Heh, Heh, Heh. Who do you think? Us three are the only ones here," said Tenkido.  
  
Masahiro was restraining Dena from losing her cool. " Tenkido!" said Dena. Masahiro was trying to calm her down.  
  
"Yes, I'm listening. What is it you have to say, Asuka?" Tenkido asked. This should be good, Tenkido thought to herself. Dena choked. She couldn't think of anything to insult Tenkido with. Tears started to feel her eyes. " Pathetic. It seems like you take after your mom quite well now doesn't it?"  
  
Dena couldn't take the insults anymore. " Masahiro, let go of me," she said in a serious tone.  
  
" I don't have time to beat you up today, Asuka. Too much is on my hands. I'm going to be the first person to capture the thief Dark Rosary," Tenkido said walking away.  
  
" Not if Masahiro catches her first!" Dena blurted out.  
  
Masahiro's eyes grew big. "What are you doing?" he whispered to her.  
  
"I'm sorry! It just slipped out!" Dena whispered back.  
  
Tenkido turned around," Oh, is that so? You plan to capture her as well Sawatari?"  
  
"No!" Masahiro said. Dena stepped on his foot, " I mean, not capture her, but um, on film!" Tenkido looked at Masahiro in annoyance and walked away to get to school. A few moments later, the bell rang for school to begin. " Oh no, not again!" Masahiro exclaimed. He took Dena's hand once more and started to run towards the classroom. They headed up the stairs and through the hall until they finally made it to the classroom.  
  
" Miss Asuka and Mr. Sawatari, late again I see," said the Sister.  
  
" Oh, don't blame them, Sister Seira. They just needed some time to be alone together," Said a student, Aivi with a small giggle.  
  
" Is that so?" Sister Seira interrogated.  
  
"No, it's a lie!" both Masahiro and Dena exclaimed.  
  
Sister Seira crossed her arms, " I will give you two one last chance. If you fail to make it on time to class tomorrow, you'll have to stay after school," she said.  
  
Dena and Masahiro sighed, " Yes, Sister Seira."  
  
After school in the church.  
  
Meimi met Seira for her weekly confession. " Meimi, Masahiro and Dena have been late to school an awful lot."  
  
" I'm so sorry, Seira, but Dena has told me that every morning, they somehow always pass by this girl, Tenkida," Meimi explained.  
  
" Masami Tenkida, yes, I know. I've talked to her once or twice. I think her father is a detective," said Seira.  
  
Masahiro and Dena were about a few steps away from the church doors. "Great, detention is just what I need right now," said Masahiro.  
  
Dena felt guilty. " I'm sorry, it's my fault. If I just didn't let that Masami Tenkida get to me then we would be on time to school every morning," she said.  
  
" It's not your fault. Geez, you have a problem with taking the blame too much. Besides, we have an even bigger problem. Like how to get a picture of you as Dark Rosary without getting your face into the shot. You can take the blame for this little mess that we're in," said Masahiro. Dena fell silent. They walked into the chapel and walked to the area where Seira and Meimi were. "Hello, Mrs. Asuka and Sister Seira," Masahiro greeted.  
  
" Hello, Masahiro. I hear you two were late again," said Meimi.  
  
" We're sorry mom, honest," said Dena.  
  
" Not to worry, dear. We have another assignment for Dark Rosary," Meimi said with a smile.  
  
Masahiro and Dena sat down. Seira took out a picture that should a golden ring with a small cross on it, covered with diamonds. Dena examined it closely. " It's the engagement ring of Miss Sadako Fukushima. Her fiancée is on a business trip in America and will be home in a couple of days. She would hate to tell her future husband of what happened to the beautiful ring. It is a rare item after all. Probably worth more than your average engagement ring," Seira said.  
  
" Wow, it's so pretty!" said Dena. " Any clue of where it is?"  
  
"It's in the large jewelry store near the park," said Seira.  
  
Masahiro looked at the picture once more. "Well, it seems that Dark Rosary has another adventure in store for her," he said with a small smirk.  
  
" Yup! First thing tomorrow night," said Dena. She took Masahiro's arm and started to head out to of the church. They ran past the park and over to the jewelry store. She went inside to see the store clerk who was sitting down on a chair next to the necklaces, sleeping. " Excuse me, sir," she said. He didn't respond one bit. He just slept while Dena tried to get his attention. Dena began to grow a little antsy until she finally gave up. " Let's go, Masahiro, she said, " This guy doesn't want to wake up."  
  
" Wait just a moment," Masahiro said. He took a piece of paper and crumbled it into a ball. Then he threw it right at the clerk's head, which finally woke him up.  
  
*Why didn't I think of that? * Dena thought to herself.  
  
The clerk stood up. " Sorry, have you been waiting long. I had a long night last night, so I'm a little tired," he said, rubbing his eyes. " May I help you with something?"  
  
" Yes, we would like to know if u have gotten any new rings?" Dena asked the clerk.  
  
The clerk had a questionable look on his face like he was hiding something." Hm? Anything specific your little heart desires, miss?" he asked Dena, with a mischievous look on his face.  
  
Now that she got his attention, Dena finally decided to describe the ring, " Why, yes. I was wondering if you have any gold rings with a small cross on it."  
  
" Yes, I believe we have a few like that," the clerk said, walking towards the section where the rings were set.  
  
"Oh, one more thing," said Dena.  
  
" I'm listening," said the clerk.  
  
" This specific ring that I am looking for is covered with diamonds." Dena now stared straight into the clerk's eyes.  
  
* What is this girl up to? * he thought to himself. " Yes, we do have one like that, but it's not for sale," said the clerk.  
  
Dena smiled, " Oh, is that so? Okay then, thank you for your time," she said. She grabbed Masahiro by the arm once more. " Let's go."  
  
Once they got out of the door she started to run again. " I thought you didn't like running?" Masahiro asked, trying to breathe and talk at the same time.  
  
" Well we have to hurry home!" Dena exclaimed. " We have to plan my next calling card. It's no fun when someone isn't trying to capture you!"  
  
The next morning at school.  
  
Tenkida was walking over into the classroom. She noticed that everyone, including Sister Seira was looking out the window. Full of curiosity, Tenkida went over to look out the window. She noticed that in the air it said, " Tonight I will come for the Golden Cross Ring at Sunshine Jewels - Dark Rosary." What is that? * Tenkida asked herself.  
  
" Look, Tenkida, It's a calling card from Dark Rosary," said Aivi. "It looks like she's pulling a Saint Tail trick."  
  
*She's right* thought Tenkida. * There must be a link between those two! Saint Tail was never captured. Hm. Maybe there's a link between those two* Tenkida's mind was full of thoughts and questions. She finally put a grin on her face, " Okay, Dark Rosary, I'll play your little game."  
  
Masahiro and Dena were on the other side of the room. Dena giggled out, "So what do you think? I thought of it myself ^_^"  
  
" So that's why you suddenly shooed me out of your house," said Masahiro.  
  
" Well, I wanted it to be a surprise," Said Dena, still smiling.  
  
Sister Seira finally got over the excitement and tried to quiet down the class. " Okay, it seems that Dark Rosary is going to be planning something tonight, but right now we have to get on with our studies," she said.  
  
Later in the evening.  
  
Tenkida was at the jewelry shop, waiting for Dark Rosary with her men. Masahiro was also there, with his camera. Now he had to actually "catch" Dena on a photograph. *I can't believe that I'm actually going to go through with this* He thought to himself. Why did Dena have to go and promise a thing like that. Now he had to take a picture, hopefully without getting her face in show. Masahiro studied the area to see if there was anyway he could help Dark Rosary with her duty. He then saw two men bring out a small box. They opened it and there, sitting in the center was the ring that Dark Rosary had come to steal.  
  
Tenkida looked at Masahiro in amazement, " You actually think you can catch her on film?" she asked. She was watching as he closely examined everything he could find. *How extremely odd* Thought Tenkida. At that moment she saw everyone on her crew drift off to sleep. " Huh?" she asked.  
  
Masahiro also saw. *Show time. Dena's arrived* he said to himself.  
  
Dark Rosary swung the front doors open as black rose petals sprung in front of her. Tenkida was stunned to see such planning that had been put into this. Dark Rosary smiled gently. " Nice to finally meet you Masami Tenkida!" she said. Dena, as Dark Rosary, had her hair in pigtails and wearing an all black outfit with a purple shirt and hat. Masahiro took one quick snap shot of her. Dena came towards the ring as she watched Tenkida staring at her in shock.  
  
Just as Dark Rosary was about to grab the ring, she heard a, "Stop there!" She turned around and noticed that Tenkida was finally out of her shocked phase. " That is private property and if you touch it, you will be charged of stealing!" Tenkida said in a voice of confidence.  
  
Dark Rosary smiled one again, "Why I never steal," she said, " I just take back what was stolen." Dark Rosary took the hat off of her head. "Now for my final act." She trailed off.  
  
"I can't allow you to take that ring!" Tenkida exclaimed running towards it.  
  
".How about a bunch of rings. ~MULTIPLICATION ILLUSION~" Dark Rosary shouted. Suddenly a bunch of rings that looked like the original filled the store. Dena had the original in her hand. She gave a wink to Masahiro and said, "Well, I guess the show is over for now. Until next time. See ya!" With that said, Dark Rosary disappeared.  
  
Next morning at school.  
  
" Wow, Sawatari, your picture of Dark Rosary made the front page!" Said Aivi with excitement in her voice.  
  
Masahiro smirked, " It seems that my goal was accomplished," he said. Then he glanced over a Tenkida with a huge smirk on his face.  
  
She was about to come charging at him until she felt a couple pats on her shoulder. " Now what did I tell you?" Dena asked with a giggle. " I told you that Masahiro would capture her first ^_^"  
  
Tenkida just groaned and took her seat. * Don't worry, next time, I'll capture Dark Rosary for sure!* she said to herself.  
  
END.  
  
So how was the first chapter? You know I might just put another one on soon. I'm beginning to like this myself, but you have to review, so until next time ^_^ 


	3. A top!

Hey everyone! I finally had time to write another chapter! And since some of you are wondering, Meimi knows about Dena because Seira is her best friend and she would have found out sooner or later. But her dad has no clue. With that said, on with the show! =^_^=  
  
*To disclaimer : I don't own Saint Tail or any of it's characters, so no suing me.  
  
It was beginning to blossom into a beautiful spring season over at Seika City, but today rain was being expected. Dena and Masahiro were racing to school once more. Luckily, they didn't bump into Tenkida, so they made it to school on time. Once they came into the classroom, Aivi came up to them and said, "Did you hear about Tenkida?"  
  
Dena suddenly flooded with curiosity. " No, I haven't. What about her?" she asked.  
  
"She skipped school today to ask your dad, detective Asuka for all files on previous thieves like the legendary Saint Tail and Fallen Angel. She's even interviewing him on the days when he used to chase Saint Tail until she finally vanished without a trace," said Aivi.  
  
Dena giggled, "Is that so? Wow, she sure doesn't give up that easily now does she?"  
  
"No, she doesn't. I sure feel sorry for whoever that Dark Rosary is. Tenkida said that there has to be some kind of connection between those three. Once Tenkida is determined to solve a mystery, there's absolutely no stopping her," said Aivi.  
  
Masahiro stayed silent during the conversation. He was thinking of what Tenkida would uncover.  
  
Meanwhile Tenkida was talking with Daiki Asuka.  
  
Tenkida knocked on the door of detective Asuka's office. "Yes, come in."  
  
Tenkida walked in with a small briefcase and a miniature tape recorder. "Hello, Mr. Asuka. I was wondering if I could do a quick interview with you and possibly get a few old newspaper articles on Fallen Angel and Saint Tail," said Tenkida.  
  
"Oh, so you're Masami Tenkida. You're Koki's daughter, aren't you? Well I have a few minutes to spare," said detective Asuka. "I guess I can take a fifteen minute break."  
  
"That's more than plenty, sir."  
  
After school.  
  
Masahiro and Dena were walking over to the park after they got some pork buns. They sat on a bench near the small pond and watched the ducks. The whole day seemed like Dena was smiling and humming. " Why are you so happy today?" Masahiro asked.  
  
Dena, still smiling said, " This is the first day in a while that I didn't bump into Masami Tenkida! I can't help but smile." She took a bite into her pork bun, "besides, don't you like the fact that she didn't say, 'Oh, if it isn't the love birds?'"  
  
*No, not really* Masahiro thought. " Didn't the reason why she was absent bother you at least a little bit?"  
  
"No. So, she went to see my dad. Big deal," said Dena, " It's not like he's going to say, 'Here, are the article's you wanted. By, the way, Saint Tail is my wife and Fallen Angel is her mother.' You worry too much, Masahiro."  
  
Both Masahiro and Dena laughed. "Another thought just came into mind. What if Tenkida explains her little "chain" theory to detective Asuka, and then he starts to get suspicious?" Masahiro asked.  
  
Dena stood up. "Oops! I guess that I forgot about that small detail. I guess I'm in trouble there. ^_^ Hahaha!"  
  
"You're still smiling T_T?!" Masahiro exclaimed.  
  
"I can't help it. I still didn't have to see her face today!"  
  
Masahiro sighed. * One thing about Dena. When she's happy, she's happy, and when she's sad, she's sad.* he thought. "Why don't we stop by your dad's office? It might be a good idea to figure out what exactly Tenkida said to him."  
  
Sounds of thunder began to rumble from the clouds. "Okay, let's hurry. I think rain will start falling soon."  
  
Masahiro and Dena saved a couple of pork buns for detective Asuka and headed over to his office. Dena pushed her dad's door open. Detective Asuka saw his daughter and said, "Hello, Dena, One of your classmates dropped by earlier."  
  
" Hi, dad, that's why I'm here. What was so important that Tenkida had to skip school for? You didn't tell her about Mom and Grandma did you?" inquired Dena.  
  
" Well, if you mean did I spill their identities, then no. I just gave her a few articles and she asked me what it was like chasing Saint Tail and getting calling cards from her," said detective Asuka.  
  
Masahiro and Dena sat down. "What was it like by the way?" Masahiro asked.  
  
Detective Asuka thought for a moment, "Well, I told Masami Tenkida that it was very magical. You'd never know what to expect when Saint Tail would appear. She'd always have a new trick up her sleeve."  
  
"That sure sounds like mom," said Dena.  
  
"When she was talking about how Fallen Angel, Saint Tail, and Dark Rosary all had a connection somehow, I was thinking if we have another thief in the family," he said, staring at Dena.  
  
*Uh oh!* Dena thought. "Wha? Me? Don't be silly, dad. Mom hasn't even taught me that much magic and I can't even get the guts to climb on rooftops."  
  
"That's a relief," said detective Asuka. "You better hurry home. Your mom probably has dinner ready soon. You're welcome to join us, Masahiro."  
  
"That's okay, sir. My dad wants to look over my next article that I want to run," said Masahiro.  
  
"Okay, that's alright. Dena, be sure to tell your mother that I will be home soon okay?"  
  
" Sure, all right, Dad," said Dena.  
  
Dena and Masahiro headed towards Dena's house. "I think he's on to you," said Masahiro.  
  
"Let's hope not," said Dena. As they were about a block away from home, it finally started to rain. "Oh, great! That's just our luck. I didn't think it was going to rain today, so I didn't bring an umbrella or a decent jacket. We cant even run since it's way too slippery!"  
  
Masahiro took off his jacket and put it on Dena, then opened his umbrella up. "Get under here before you catch a cold," he said gently.  
  
Dena did as he said. "You really should take back your jacket, Masahiro. You might catch a cold."  
  
"I'm alright. We cant let the Dark Rosary get sick now can we?" said Masahiro, trying to think of a reason for giving up his jacket.  
  
"Well, okay, but don't blame me if you catch a cold out here!" said Dena. The two walked over to Dena's house. Dena took off the jacket and handed it back to Masahiro. "Thank you. It kept me very warm. I can see why you always have it whenever it's cold. It's a very warm jacket."  
  
Masahiro patted her head like a little kid. "What are friends for? I'll see you tomorrow, Dena. If you need help on anything, just give me a call."  
  
" =^_^= Okay I will," she said. Then Masahiro left, and Dena finally shut the door close, seeing her mother once she turned around. "Masahiro didn't want to stay for dinner?" Meimi asked.  
  
"No, Sawatari-san was going to look over an article he wrote for the school paper, so he had to hurry home," said Dena. "Mom, did dad ever mention anything about him thinking that I'm the Dark Rosary?"  
  
"No, not that I remember," said Meimi, "I'm sure that it's alright."  
  
"Let's hope. Tenkida paid him a little visit today. She thinks Saint Tail and the Dark Rosary have a little connection between each other, and now I think dad is getting a little suspicious. So I think it's best that for now on, you shouldn't show me magic while he is around."  
  
"I think that's a good idea, Dena. The Lord only knows what your dad might do if he found out that his daughter was following her mother's footsteps," said Meimi with a slight giggle.  
  
Now Dena seemed curious once more. "What did dad do when he found out you were Saint Tail?" she asked her mother.  
  
"Oh, wow. I never thought you would ask that question. The truth is, I thought he was going to get mad and break up our relationship. But he was actually quite happy. I remember it perfectly. That night, at the monastery, was Saint Tail's last show," said Meimi.  
  
Meimi then had a flash back of the incident at the monastery when Asuka Jr. embraced her in his arms. "I'm sorry. I didn't figure out sooner."  
  
Dena's eyes had started to glow. "I wish I was there for it."  
  
"Was there for what?" asked the voice of detective Asuka.  
  
" Dad? You sure come in silently," said Dena. "Well, I guess you and mom have to share your days schedule or something with each other. Um, I'll be in my room working on my homework." Dena quickly ran up the stairs and entered her room.  
  
Her dad watched puzzled as she swiftly ran up. "You, know, Dena has been acting strangely today."  
  
"It's just been a long day for her," said Meimi, giving her "Asuka Jr." a soft peck on the cheek.  
  
The next morning, Masahiro was once again waiting for Dena who was moseying out the front door. "Dena, hurry! We have an English test today!"  
  
Dena sniffled and put on her shoes. The two ran as fast as they could to school. The street was very busy today with cars zooming left and right. "It looks like we have a little situation," said Dena, "You know I'll most likely get hit with my luck, Masahiro."  
  
But Masahiro was determined to make it for that test! He took a hold of Dena's hand and got ready to cross. "Don't let go now. Okay, Dena?" She nodded.  
  
As soon as there was room to pass, Dena and Masahiro swiftly ran across the street without being close to being hit. They took a short breather and unfortunately saw Masami Tenkida. "Well, well. Having a little trouble here I see. You two lovebirds miss me yesterday?" she asked.  
  
A little vein popped out of Dena's head. *Ugh! I wish she would stop saying that! Poor Masahiro is probably annoyed to death!* "Tenkida, not today! There's a test and all three of us our going to be late!" she said.  
  
"Fine, I'll cooperate this one time," said Tenkida. All three of them ran over to the classroom and made it just in time- to stand in the hall that is.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Tenkida," said Dena. The two glared at each other angrily.  
  
Masahiro sweat-dropped. " Um, girls, this staring contest really needs to stop. Tenkida stop aggravating Dena already!"  
  
"Why don't you put your foot where your mouth is?! Your girlfriend is just a big baby, that's all!" said Tenkida.  
  
She felt Dena's battle aura flare up as she pushed it. "Would you shut up already?! At least I don't skip school just to plan on capturing a thief! You'll never capture the Dark Rosary no matter how many times you try!"  
  
Tenkida smirked, " We shall see about that, heh."  
  
After School.  
  
"That Masami Tenkida gets me really mad sometimes!" said Dena as they were heading to see Seira.  
  
"Heh, but you do act like a baby sometimes," said Masahiro. Dena gave him a jab in his gut. "Ow!"  
  
"Whose side are you on?" she asked.  
  
*Heh, she's so cute when she gets all defensive like that* Masahiro thought.  
  
In the Chapel.  
  
"A top?" Dena and Masahiro's confused voices asked.  
  
"It's not just any top. It belongs to a sixth grader named Kasuki. It's been in her family for generations. It means a whole lot to her," said Sister Seira.  
  
"Well, who stole it?" asked Dena.  
  
Seira handed Dena a picture, "A girl who challenged her at her school named Koko. Koko had a top of her own that looked just the same as Kasuki's since collecting tops was her hobby. The two girls let their tops loose and the winner was Kasuki. Koko wanted Kasuki's top for herself, so switched them on purpose. Kasuki, of course, quickly noticed and went to confront Koko. But Koko is denying that she switched them and is keeping the top she has."  
  
Dena was surprised. Not many people these days collected tops. "Okay, well I guess if it means that much to her."  
  
Masahiro and Dena put their desks so they could exchange some of their lunch with each other. "So, what was your calling card this time?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"Hehe ^_^ You'll see!" She said with a heart symbol.  
  
Tenkida opened her box lunch and "POOF!" a letter from Dark Rosary appeared that read, "Tonight I will be at the Tonkawa residence to steal a top-Dark Rosary"  
  
"What's the?!" Tenkida exclaimed out of her seat. "A top?!"  
  
(AU: What's the deal?! It's just a friggin top!)  
  
Dena giggled and whispered, "Mom did the same the same to one of her calling cards ~_^"  
  
Aivi's eyes grew big in excitement. "Wow, another calling card from Dark Rosary!"  
  
*True, but what's so special about a top?* Tenkida thought to herself.  
  
Later that night.  
  
Tenkida headed over to the Tonkawa residence and prepared for Dark Rosary's next show. "What?! Dark Rosary is coming here to steal one of my tops?!" asked the voice of Koko Tonkawa. *Oh no! What if it's the top that I stole from that Kasuki Himishima?*  
  
Masahiro finally walked in with his camera. "Ah! Sawatari, what are you doing here?!" Tenkida exclaimed in shock.  
  
"A good reporter- then again- any reporter knows that you need a different picture for every article you run. Common sense wouldn't hurt you, you know," said Masahiro. *Actually, I'm just here in case Dena goofs up*  
  
A vein popped out of Tenkida's head. "What did you say, you big-" Tenkida got interrupted ad the lights started to flicker on and off.  
  
"Eek! What's going on?!" screamed the voice of Koko.  
  
*Giggle* "You've got something I want, Koko Tonkawa!" said the voice of Dark Rosary. Dena felt a sharp pain on her head. *Uh oh! I guess I'm finally starting to get a fever. I better end this soon*  
  
"No, it's my top! Kasuki Himishima just wants to blame me for taking her old one that looks exactly like mine!" said Koko.  
  
Dark Rosary took a ribbon and grabbed Tenkida with it. "Sorry, but it's cold tonight hehe."  
  
"Dark Rosary, you are under arrest! Untie me now, so I can capture you!" said Tenkida.  
  
Dark Rosary then took a second ribbon and snatched the top out of Koko's hands, replacing it with Koko's real top. "No can do, Masami Tenkida. You'll never capture me no matter how many times you try ^_^"  
  
Tenkida then suddenly got a flashback from earlier that day. "Would you shut up already?! At least I don't skip school just to plan on capturing a thief! You'll never capture the Dark Rosary no matter how many times you try!" Tenkida gasped. *Was that just a coincidence? Dena Asuka said the exact same thing!*  
  
Masahiro took a few quick snaps and Dena finally headed on top of the roof. He quickly went outside to see that she got away safely. * #_# My head is spinning!* Dena thought until she finally collapsed.  
  
Masahiro quickly caught her and hid until the coast was finally clear. " Dena!" he whispered, slightly shaking her, "Dena, wake up!"  
  
Dena's eyes fluttered open. "M-Masahiro? What's going on?" she asked.  
  
Masahiro then felt her head. "Oh, geez you're burning up! We gotta get you home"  
  
"But the top." Dena trailed off.  
  
"I'll give it to Sister Seira tomorrow," he said. Dena closed her eyes and rested. Masahiro looked around. *There's no way I'm going to make it without anyone seeing me! My house is way closer.I guess I'll have to bring her there and have her mom come get her*  
  
Masahiro's house.  
  
Dena opened her eyes to find herself in a familiar bed, though it wasn't hers. *Am I in Masahiro's bed?* she asked herself.  
  
Masahiro stepped inside and brought a damp cloth and rubbed it on Dena's head. "If you weren't feeling well why didn't you just say so?" he asked.  
  
Dena ignored the question unintentionally. "Did you carry me?" she asked.  
  
Masahiro felt a heavy shade of red fall upon his face. "Um, yeah. I couldn't just leave my best friend there now could I?"  
  
"Thanks, Masahiro," said Dena.  
  
"It was nothing. You would have done the same." *With magic of course, though*  
  
The next day at school, Tenkida was once again sulking. "Why are you so down, Tenkida?" Aivi asked. "This isn't the first time you haven't caught Dark Rosary."  
  
"Not only did I not capture her, but I don't have Asuka to take my anger out on!" said Tenkida. *And I can't help wonder if that saying was just a coincidence or not*  
  
Well how'd you like that chapter? Sorry it took so long, but I was waiting for at least one review ^_^ No point in writing if you don't have a reader hahahaha. So, all I need is one review and I'll continue writing. 


	4. A New Student? Case of the stolen goggle...

Hey ppls ^_^ I finally got a review, so now its time to continue the story...I'll try to make this one with a lil romantic  
  
*Disclaimer: I don't own Saint Tail.I wish I did though Dena had finally recovered from her fever and returned to school with Masahiro and was surprisingly not late. "Well, well, look who's back from the dead," said Masami Tenkida. "Looks like the love birds are reunited once again."  
  
Once again, a vein popped out of Dena's head, "Would you stop saying that already?! It's really getting old you know."  
  
Aivi pushed Masahiro forward and whispered, "Well, you better go defend your girl."  
  
"What?! This is nuts! You too?" Masahiro asked with a sweat drop on his head while staring shocked at Aivi.  
  
"Oh, come on, Masahiro, we all know you like Dena. You just need to cross that line between "friend and friendlier," said Aivi.  
  
"What garbage are you spouting out? You know Dena and me are best friends. I'm sure she'll find someone nice," said Masahiro.  
  
Once everyone got seated in class Sister Seira got ready to make an announcement, "Okay, class, it looks like we have a new transfer student today. Everybody say hello to Mr. Rohiroshi Azuma."  
  
Rohiroshi Azuma was a tall, handsome boy with dark blue hair. All the girls' eyes started to glow. "Nice to meet all of you," he said.  
  
Masahiro heard Dena talking to one of her friends behind him, "Oh, he's such a cutie!"  
  
Aivi, who was sitting right next to Masahiro, tapped him on the shoulder, "So, are you at least a little worried now?" she asked. Masahiro gulped.  
  
During Lunch.  
  
All the guys were gathered around one side of the classroom, introducing themselves all to the new student, while the girls were on the other side, scoping out the new cute boy. "So, where are you from, Azuma?" asked one of the boys.  
  
"Actually, I've come from America. My father is in the military and got stationed here in Seika City," he promised we'd be here for a while.  
  
Meanwhile the girls were talking their own talk. "Why don't you go talk to that new guy, Dena?" asked one of the girls, Gyoko.  
  
"No!" Aivi interrupted, though she didn't intend to say it out loud. *Oh geez, what am I saying? As if that's going to work!*  
  
"Oh, never mind Aivi. Go, Dena," said Gyoko once more, pushing Dena over to where the boys are.  
  
"Hey, Masahiro, your girl is coming over," teased the boys.  
  
"Stop that, you guys, we're just friends," said Masahiro.  
  
"Well, in that case, may I introduce myself to her?" Azuma asked.  
  
Dena had nervously walked up to the new student. "Hi, my name is Dena, um Dena Asuka. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"How do you do, miss. It's nice to finally speak to one of the girls in this class. May I call you Dena? You may call me Rohiroshi if you'd like."  
  
Dena put a bright smile one her face, "That'd be great."  
  
One of the boys then poked Masahiro, "You better watch out before he steals Dena, Masahiro." Masahiro bonked him on the head but hoped that Dena wouldn't get stolen away deep inside.  
  
After School.  
  
Dena and Masahiro both went to the nearby craft store to buy a new notebook. "Oh, wasn't that new guy Rohiroshi something Masahiro?" Dena asked.  
  
"Yeah, um, really something," Masahiro mumbled sarcastically.  
  
"You don't seem to like him that much," said Dena. She poked Masahiro's cheeks. "You know, if I wasn't your best friend, I'd say you were jealous, Masahiro."  
  
"Oh, don't be silly, you're free to like whoever you like and I'm free to like whoever I like," said Masahiro.  
  
"I don't like him. By the way.who do you like, Masahiro?" Dena asked. That was actually the first time she had ever asked him that question.  
  
"Well, um," *badum* "I, um," *badum* Masahiro finally came up with an answer, "No one. I like no one." He then walked forward and opened the door to the shop.  
  
Dena walked in and quickly headed over to where the notebooks were while Masahiro followed. She picked out a cute notebook with a little bear holding a heart then looked up at Masahiro, "This is really bugging me. Everyone likes somebody, Masahiro. Now spill!"  
  
*I guess I'm not getting out of this one* thought Masahiro. "Okay, well, the truth is. I do like someone. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you," he said.  
  
"Fine," said Dena. She stuck out her tongue at Masahiro for a little bit.  
  
In the chapel.  
  
"You see, Dena, Kei is going to a ski tournament in Europe," said Sister Seira.  
  
Flash Back  
  
"Sister, I can't go to the tournament without those goggles. My grandfather gave them to me my first tournament ever. One of my opponents stole it who is also going to the tournament because he knows that I choke without those goggles," said the worried voice of Kei.  
  
End Flashback  
  
"Oh, that's so terrible," said Dena, "If someone close to me gave me something precious I would sure hate to get it stolen."  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it," said Masahiro.  
  
"Listen, Dena, Kei will be taking the 9:15 train tomorrow in order for him to make it to his flight on time," said Seira.  
  
"Well, I guess it's time for Dark Rosary to save the day once again ^_^," said Dena, holding up a "V for VICTORY" sign. Masahiro and Seira sweat- dropped.  
  
Beginning of school.  
  
Everyone had just gotten into class and it was about 10 minutes till school actually started. Tenkida was sitting at her desk with her chin rested on her arms. *I don't get it. It can't just be a coincidence. It's not everyday your sworn enemy and a mystery thief say the exact same phrase in the same day* she thought to herself. "*whisper* she just has to be the Dark Rosary or at least has to know her. It has to be Asuka."  
  
"What are you whispering about?" said Masahiro, who apparently heard the little predicament.  
  
"Sawatari! I was just, um, rehearsing some lines for a play," said Tenkida, with a lame lie.  
  
"But I could have sworn I heard you say-"  
  
"I just told you what I said, now leave me alone!" Tenkida snapped. She then opened her desk to reveal big surprise. "Wagh!"  
  
Aivi turned around to see what was up. "Look, everyone, it's a calling card from the Dark Rosary!"  
  
"Dark who?" Rohiroshi asked.  
  
"Dark Rosary. She's the thief that roams at knight. Masami Tenkida has been trying to capture her for quite some time now," said Aivi.  
  
Tenkida carefully read the calling card Tonight I will be at the Akimoto residence to steal a pair of goggles- Dark Rosary " I really haven't been getting her calling cards lately. First a top and now a pair goggles?" Tenkida inquired to herself.  
  
" !_! Well, maybe she has a good reason to steal those things!" Dena blurted out.  
  
Tenkida looked at Dena curiously. *What is she getting so worked up about? * She decided to test her theory, "Oh, and why do you all of a sudden know a lot? You wouldn't happen to know whom Dark Rosary is, do you?"  
  
*Oh, no, maybe I said too much* Dena thought. "No, I just happen to think happen to have my own opinion on why she steals things," she said.  
  
"Well, then I happen to support Miss Dena's personal opinion," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"^_^ Really? Oh, thank you, Rohiroshi," said Dena with a bright smile on her face.  
  
Masahiro all of sudden got a huge punch of anger and jealousy. That's when he stood forward, "Then I support Dena too!"  
  
" _+ You mean you didn't support me from the beginning, Masahiro?!" she quickly raged.  
  
Masahiro sweat-dropped and waved his arms in front of his face, "No, no, that's not what I meant, Dena."  
  
After school. (AU: There are sure a lot of scene changes in this one ^_^)  
  
Masahiro and Dena were just leaving the school. "Geez, you didn't have hit me that hard. I said that it wasn't what I meant," said Masahiro as he was rubbing a bump on his head.  
  
"I'm sorry v_v* I thought you would dodge," said Dena.  
  
" _! Dodge that speed of light punch?!"  
  
"Hey, I said sorry!" said Dena, sticking out her tongue.  
  
"Hello, You guys," said the voice of Rohiroshi, who was right behind Dena and Masahiro. "Miss Dena, I was wondering if I may walk you home."  
  
"Me?" Dena asked. *What a stupid question! * "I would love to, but Masahiro and I always walk home together."  
  
"Oh, I understand," said Rohiroshi. "I guess, I'll be off then."  
  
"Bye," Dena waved.  
  
Masahiro and Dena started walking again, down the street. "You could have walked with him if you wanted to, you know," Masahiro finally said to break deep silence.  
  
"I would have.that is if you came with me. I didn't want to walk him alone," said Dena.  
  
" T_T You, know last time I checked, walking dates are supposed with two people alone," said Masahiro.  
  
"So, I may be attracted to the guy, but I barely no him! Who knows.maybe he is really a psycho rapist," said Dena, over exaggerating just a tad bit.  
  
"Oh, please. Snap back to reality for a second, would you," said Masahiro.  
  
"Well like I said, I am attracted to Rohiroshi, but I don't think I see him as anymore than just friends for now, until I get to know him better, so a walking date is out of the question v_v," said Dena.  
  
*Boy, you don't know how much of a relief that is.* Masahiro thought to himself. They had finally reached Dena's house. "Well, then I'll see you tonight, Dark Rosary," said Masahiro giving Dena a little wave. "Count on it, Reporter Sawatari," said Dena, waving back. "Oh, wait. Take this, Masahiro." Dena handed him the notebook, still wrapped, that she had bought the other at the store.  
  
"What's that for?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"It's for the girl you like. Give this to her, and I'm sure she'll love it," said Dena.  
  
Masahiro smiled, "Well, then you keep it.until I work up the courage to give it to her that is."  
  
"Okay ^_^" said Dena.  
  
Masahiro left and Dena finally shut the door. "Slick move of Masahiro," said Meimi.  
  
Dena turned around, "Huh, what do you mean, Mom?"  
  
"I mean, Masahiro just gave that notebook to the person he likes," said Meimi. "Sometimes you are just so carefree that you don't notice when a guy likes you, Dena, but I guess that's what makes you so cute."  
  
"Huh?" Dena said, still totally clueless. *Masahiro likes me? No, he couldn't, at least I think he couldn't. *  
  
Akimoto residence.  
  
Tenkida was once again annoyed to see that Masahiro was once again there, ready to take another picture of Dark Rosary. "Agh! Sawatari, haven't you gotten enough photos?"  
  
"A couple of photos for my article should do," said Masahiro.  
  
"Oh, whatever," said Tenkida. She then called out, "Listen up, I want you to guard every inch of this place. We won't let her escape this time! The owner is counting on us to keep these goggles safe." Though, Tenkida said all that, the guards were still not obeying. "What's wrong? Why aren't you all moving?"  
  
"C-Can't m-m-move," said one of the guards.  
  
"Huh?" said Tenkida.  
  
"Paralysis powder!" Masahiro said. "Don't let your 'guard' down. Haha Get it? Don't let your--"  
  
Tenkida bonked him on the head, "This is not time to joke around." She clutched the goggle in her hand.  
  
"Ouch! Twice in one day." *Maybe I could make a career in acting. *  
  
Tenkida looked up, "Show your self, Dark Rosary. I know you're here!"  
  
Dark Rosary giggled from above. "Why come down, when it's so fun to watch you from up here. 1.2.3! ~ Snow storm!~" Dark Rosary caused an illusion blizzard inside the house .  
  
"What the?! I can't see a thing!" shouted Tenkida.  
  
The fake storm finally ended, and Tenkida found out that the goggles were no longer in her hand. "I'm sorry, Masami Tenkida, but I must take these goggles back to their rightful owner."  
  
Dark Rosary disappeared out of sight, and Tenkida looked out of the window. "She's climbing on the rooftops!" Tenkida ran outside and borrowed one of the officers' bikes. She followed Dark Rosary and soon got close behind her. "Stop right there, Dark Rosary!"  
  
*I need to lose her. She sure doesn't give up easily. * Dark Rosary thought to herself. "One. two.three! ~Teddy Bear Attack! ~"  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," said Tenkida from down below. A bunch of Teddy Bears came falling down, causing Tenkida to lose control of the bike, and cause the path to block. "Oh, shoot!"  
  
"At least I got away ^_^," said Dark Rosary. She looked at the clock on the tower. " 9:07. enough fun and games I guess. 1.2.3.!" and *poof* A set of balloons were in Dark Rosary's hand, allowing her to leap faster, higher, and farther. "I should get there just in time now." She headed straight over to the top of the train station where she saw Kei, his coach and some of his teammates.  
  
"Well, I'm going to need a lot of support and cheering from you guys with my goggles that Grandpa gave me gone," said Kei.  
  
"You don't need goggles to prove that you can win, Kei. You have the talent," said one of his teammates.  
  
Kei then saw a pair of silver goggles tied up to a couple of balloons float down from the sky. "Grandpa's goggles! God has answered my prayers! Alright team, I'm ready to go to the tournament!"  
  
"Alright, that's the spirit, Kei!" ~~~~~~~~~ *Sigh* "What a night. Now time to go home," said Dark Rosary.  
  
Dena finally changed out of her costume and came to her front door, where she saw Masahiro. "She almost got you that time," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I have to be more careful for now on. Tenkida is getting good. *Yawn* But, I'll worry about that later. Right now it's time for shut eye," Dena.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I'll be heading home," said Masahiro.  
  
"Okay." He walked down to the street. "Um, Masahiro."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, Oh, nothing. Goodnight," said Dena.  
  
"Okay, goodnight," said Masahiro as he walked off with a puzzled look on his face.  
  
Sadly the next morning at school.  
  
"What's wrong, Tenkida?" Aivi asked the sulking girl who looked dead laying down on her desk.  
  
"I WAS SOOOOO CLOSE!!!" She shouted with anime tears.  
  
AU: I beat my record! Oh, nvrm v_v. well you know the drill ~_^. all I need is one review and I'll continue the story, and please review because I already have another chapter in my head. 


	5. Mayu Sendo returns

l AU: well, ppl, u asked for it! Here's the next Chapter for the Next Generation ^_^  
  
* Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Tail! (  
  
Some where in Tokyo.  
  
Mayu Sendo had just received a letter from Seika city:  
  
Dear Miss Sendo:  
I would appreciate it so much if you were to come down to  
Seika City. I would like to discuss your knowledge of the  
thieves Saint Tail and Fallen Angel. We have a new thief in  
town, who calls herself Dark Rosary, and I think these 3  
may have a link. I have talked to Detective Asuka- I believe  
you may know him- and have gotten some information from  
him. Please accept my request.  
  
Sincerely,  
Masami Tenkida. "Well, well, well," said Mayu, "Meimi Haneoka has a daughter. I wonder if it belongs to Asuka Jr. I guess it's time to pay a little visit to Seika City."  
  
St. Paulia's academy.  
  
"Hey did you all hear?" Aivi asked.  
  
"Hear what?" Dena asked.  
  
"The Pandora fortune telling shop from a few years ago opened up again."  
  
Everyone in the classroom awed, but Dena, Masahiro, and Sister Seira who had just walked in fell silent. "Hey, isn't that the same shop with the owners who kidnapped your father one time?" Masahiro whispered.  
  
Dena kept quiet but nodded. * This isn't good. Why are they here? I have to tell mom. *  
  
At the chapel.  
  
Dena paced back and forth until Seira came back into the chapel. "I see Mayu Sendo has come back to Seika city, but there is no explanation as to why, Dena. It looks like you will have to investigate on your own. But, be warned now. Mayu Sendo has great hypnotic skill. You have to be very careful," said Seira.  
  
"Yes, I will," said Dena.  
  
Her and Masahiro left the chapel and headed over to Dena's house. They didn't know it, but Mayu Sendo was "Hey, Mom, are you home?"  
  
"Yes, Dena, what is it?" Meimi asked when she stepped by the front door. "We have a problem. May-"  
  
But before Dena could say a word, her dad had just gotten home. "Hey, I'm home."  
  
*Great, this is just my luck * thought Dena.  
  
"Um, uh, I think I'll just head home now," said Masahiro, stepping out of the door.  
  
"I sure hope I'm not interrupting anything," said a voice behind Masahiro. He moved out of the way to reveal Mayu Sendo standing in the front of the Asuka residence. Meimi stood dead in her tracks with little fear behind her eyes, while Dena and Detective Asuka stood defensive. "I guess it is right. You did marry Asuka Jr. May I come in?"  
  
Everyone sat in the family room to some tea. "I had received a letter from a Miss Masami Tenkida."  
  
*I knew Tenkida had something to do with this! * thought Dena.  
  
"She had informed me of a new thief in Seika city," Mayu continued. She took out a little incense tin with a lavender scent. Before Meimi could warn anyone, Dena had already breathed the smell in, and she was caught in the hypnotic spell. "Dena Asuka, just tell me one thing: Are you or are you not Dark Rosary?" *No, Dena, fight it. * thought Meimi.  
  
But, it was too late; Dena had started to speak, "Yes, I am Dark Rosary."  
  
Everyone gasped. Dena had confessed in front of a complete stranger and.HER FATHER! Mayu snapped her fingers and ended the hypnotism. Detective Asuka sat in shock, as Dena stared at her dad's eyes with tears falling down her face. "I-I- I'm sorry, Dad," she said, racing to go up the stairs.  
  
Masahiro got up, "I'll go up the with her."  
  
After Masahiro went upstairs Mayu Sendo stood up. "I assure you that this information will be confidential. I will not spread her identity."  
  
"You never do," said Meimi, "but you still shouldn't have done that. Please leave, Mayu Sendo."  
  
"I understand. Goodbye." Mayu Sendo then walked outside of the Asuka house.  
  
Dena's room.  
  
Masahiro walked into Dena's room to see her sitting on the bed with her face buried in the pillows. He sat himself at the foot of the bed. "Come on, Dena, I'm sure your dad is fine."  
  
"He could be very mad. What if I have to stop being Dark Rosary? What if he grounds me? Or even worse: What if her kicks me out?!" Dena exclaimed, lifting her head slowly.  
  
Masahiro sweat dropped, "Okay, now you're talking crazy ^_^"  
  
"What if he tells Tenkida? v_v"  
  
"Fat chance ^_^*"  
  
"But what if he sends me away?!"  
  
"Not likely. T_T"  
  
Dena a smiled little bit, but turned back to a frown quickly and looked down to the ground as she spilled her last thought, "Then, what if he arrests me? I am a thief. My dad might do just that.and I'll be thought of as a criminal at school."  
  
Masahiro frowned, "That won't happen."  
  
Dena looked up, "It won't?"  
  
"No, I won't let it happen to my best friend."  
  
Dena smiled sweetly and gave Masahiro a hug and a..A KISS ON THE CHEEK?! "Thanks, Masahiro. That really means a lot to me."  
  
Masahiro had a deep red blush on his face. * Maybe she. Maybe I can. * " Uh, Dena, I.Um.I."  
  
"Yes, Masahiro?" Dena inquired.  
  
"I, uh, I just remembered I have to go sort some pics at home. You can come if you want."  
  
Dena stood up, "Right now that sounds better than being here ^_^" Dena and Masahiro headed back down the stairs to see both of her parents sitting in the living room. "if it's okay, I'll be going over to Masahiro's."  
  
Detective Asuka looked at Meimi then nodded. Once Masahiro and Dena went outside she decided it would be wise to go to the chapel first to inform Sister Seira on what's going on. "I see, so Mayu Sendo did just as I predicted, and now your father knows."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Seira. I know you warned me. I just wasn't careful enough. v_v" said Dena, looking to the ground.  
  
"No, it's okay. Your mother couldn't fight back the hypnotism either." Seira then took out a piece of paper, which had a picture. "Listen, Dena, I know you probably won't be able to accomplish this task, but please do try."  
  
Dena looked at a picture of a small black dog. "He's so cute, but what am I supposed to do about a dog?"  
  
"That dog is your task," said Seira. "His name is Daihiko, and he belongs to a little boy named Iwa. Iwa was playing with Daihiko in the park, but he didn't have a collar on him, so Daihiko ran away. The next thing you know, the little dog was taken to the pound. The pound will not let Iwa take Daihiko home, and his parents just think a friend is taking care of him for a while. Iwa didn't have the heart to tell them. A family is thinking of adopting Daihiko next week, and Iwa misses him a lot."  
  
"And you were hoping the Dark Rosary could save the day," said Dena in a saddened voice. Tears once again started to form on her face.  
  
Dena ran outside and headed towards the school where she bumped into Rohiroshi. "Dena, what's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Rohiroshi! Um, nothing, I'm fine."  
  
Masahiro finally caught up and ran to see Dena in Rohiroshi's arms. * Well, it looks like Dena is in good hands. * He said, walking away.  
  
"Something has got to be bothering you. There's no way you can be crying out of happiness," said Rohiroshi, still holding on to her.  
  
Dena closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears. "Rohiroshi, I'm sorry, but I need to go," she said, getting away from his grip, heading towards Masahiro's house. She knocked right on his door, where Mr. Sawatari opened it.  
  
"Oh hello, Dena, Masahiro just walked in. You can go up and see him if you want," he said.  
  
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Sawatari."  
  
Dena walked upstairs to see Masahiro sitting on top of his bed. He turned to finally see Dena standing at his door. "Oh, hey." Dena sat herself right next to Masahiro and leaned on his shoulder. His face turned red, "Aren't you doing that to the wrong person?"  
  
"Do I have another best friend that I should know about?" she asked.  
  
"You seemed pretty cozy with that Rohiroshi ."  
  
"Oh, please," said Dena. She then looked up with a determined look her face. "I'm going to save that dog."  
  
" What?! Are you nuts?! Your dad knows who you are, Dena. Shouldn't you wait till we figure out what your dad is thinking of doing?"  
  
"I don't care. We both knew that I would get caught someday. It was just a matter of time. That boy needs my help, so I'll help him no matter what," said Dena as she stood up. "^_^ By the way, Masahiro, may I stay here for a while? You know, until my dad cools down and all?"  
  
*Her mood sure changed quickly * thought Masahiro T_T.*  
  
Next Day at school.  
  
"Hey, were you cozy with Rohiroshi yesterday, Dena?" Aivi asked her out of the blue, while Dena was looking out of the window.  
  
"What?! I_I* you were there?" Dena asked, finally getting out of her dazed state. "It was nothing really! I just slipped and he was just in the right place at the right time. That's all, I promise! ^_^*"  
  
"Aaaha," said Aivi, with a cat look on her face.  
  
Rohiroshi pulled Masahiro over for a little side conversation. "Hey, is everything alright with Dena? I sort of bumped into her yesterday, and she looked a little sad," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"She's okay, she's just having a little trouble with her family. Thanks for asking though," said Masahiro.  
  
"Well, if there's anything I can do to help." Rohiroshi trailed off.  
  
*I guess Azuma isn't that bad. * "Don't worry, I'll inform you if she needs any help," said Masahiro with a little smile.  
  
Masami Tenkida was just sitting at her desk staring down at it. "It's been so long. I haven't gotten a single calling card from Dark Rosary!" Tenkida said in a mild tone. "Why haven't I gotten a calling card?!" she shouted to the ceiling.  
  
Everyone stared at her with sweat-drops as her face turned plain and red. "Would you relax, you big baby! It's been a week. You just need to chill," said Dena with a vein popping out of her head.  
  
"You sure got some nerve talking to me like that, Asuka," said Tenkida, getting out of her seat.  
  
"So sue me!"  
  
"Maybe I wi-" *poof* "What the?!" Masami Tenkida looked up at her head to see, "A calling card from Dark Rosary!"  
  
Rohiroshi took the calling card off from Tenkida's head. "Tomorrow night I will be at the city pound to steal a puppy- Dark Rosary" he read.  
  
"At least it's not a top or a pair of goggles this time," said Tenkida.  
  
Everyone in the classroom suddenly heard a bunch of books fall to the floor and turned around. Sister Seira had a shocked look on her face. "Huh, are you okay, Sister Seira?" Gyoko asked.  
  
"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just had a little dizzy moment ^_^ " said Seira, "I sure hope that Dark Rosary knows what she is doing. She may get caught some day."  
  
At the chapel.  
  
"Are you sure this is a wise decision, Dena? I agree with Masahiro: you should wait until your father has talked to you about his new discovery," said Seira in a concerned voice.  
  
"I know what I'm doing. Everything will be fine, I promise," said Dena starting to walk towards the exit. "Come on Masahiro, we have to pay a little visit to Mayu Sendo."  
  
Pandora Shop.  
  
Dena and Masahiro walked in the entrance of the Pandora Shop where they saw Mayu sitting at her crystal ball. " Dena Asuka, what a surprise."  
  
"Miss Sendo, my father didn't know who I was. Why did you do that to me?" Dena asked, standing right next to Masahiro.  
  
"I did it only to find out who Dark Rosary was. You and your mom are alike. Both of you kept your identity from Asuka Jr. But if you wish to erase your father's memory, just hand him this. It will make it seem that it was just a dream find out you are Dark Rosary," said Mayu, handing a bottle to Dena.  
  
Dena took the bottle out of her hands, "How can I trust you? You tried to sabotage my mom and dad's relationship, and tried to ruin my mom's life as a thief."  
  
"I do that no longer. My mother helped me learn that to have someone love you no matter what would be something worth cherishing. I'm willing to give you a second chance to have a normal life with your father, so that's why you should trust me," said Mayu.  
  
"uh, um, Thank you," said Dena, bowing and taking Masahiro along with her.  
  
"Dena, can we really trust her?" Masahiro asked as soon as they went out of the shop.  
  
"I don't know, but for some reason I.I believed her."  
  
A few minutes later.  
  
Masami Tenkida had finally gotten a chance to go to the Pandora Fortune telling shop to discuss Dark Rosary with Mayu Sendo. "Hello, Miss Sendo, I'm Masami Tenkida."  
  
"Oh, so you are Miss Tenkida then."  
  
"Yes, I was wondering. If you by any chance would happen to know Dark Rosary's true identity."  
  
"Yes, I do."  
  
"Really, then who is it?"  
  
Mayu paused for a moment as she left Tenkida in suspense. "I'm sorry, that information is confidential," she finally said.  
  
"Miss Sendo, I'll have you know that it is mandatory that the detective agency know about this. You can be arrested for refusing to answer!"  
  
"But, you are not a detective, and if you were, I still would not speak."  
  
Tenkida looked at Mayu angrily. "I will be back, Miss Sendo, so don't even think about leaving Seika city."  
  
"Very well. Good day to you, Miss Tenkida."  
  
um..somewhere(back to Dena and Masahiro)  
  
Dena and Masahiro were both heading back to his house. "I think I should go home," said Dena, looking down at the ground.  
  
Masahiro looked over to her, "Yeah, me too. Want me to come with you?" he said.  
  
"No, I have to do this on my own," she said clenching onto the bottle Mayu gave to her.  
  
Dena walked into her the door of her house, not expecting her dad to be home. He was sitting down on the couch, "It's been a couple of days," he said.  
  
"Yeah, it has," said Dena uncomfortably. She went to sit down on the couch so her and Detective Asuka could talk. "Listen, Dad, I-"  
  
"It's okay. I don't know how I couldn't have seen it sooner. You have your mom's spirit. I should have expected you to be Dark Rosary."  
  
"You should?"  
  
"Yes, I completely understand why you had to keep it a secret from me."  
  
Dena sweat-dropped, "Uh, you do?" She then looked at the bottle in her hand.  
  
"Yes, I do. And I know I can't stop you from being what's in your blood."  
  
"Really, um thanks, Dad," said Dena. * Since when is he so understanding?! *  
  
"Well, you should go get washed up for dinner then," he finally said.  
  
"I uh will," said Dena, still sweat-dropping. She then got on the phone and called Masahiro right away.  
  
"Hahahahaha," laughed Masahiro.  
  
"Hey, that was totally freaky! How can he be so damn calm?!" Dena exclaimed in her quietist voice. (AU: does that make sense?)  
  
"Now, to think I was worried."  
  
"I still can't believe it v_v," said Dena with a heavy sigh.  
  
Next night.  
  
Tenkida brought her men to the pound where they guarded all the dogs and cats. And, as usual, Masahiro was there with his camera. "You have no chance this time, Tenkida," said Masahiro, getting ready to shoot (his camera that is).  
  
"You know, for once I agree with you, Sawatari v_v," said Tenkida.  
  
* Huh?! * "What.did you just?" Masahiro asked in shock.  
  
"I said that I agr- What are you doing?" Tenkida asked at the boy who was feeling her forehead.  
  
"You must be sick. And I don't even know what's even more scary: the fact that you agreed with me, or the fact that you agreed that you wouldn't catch Dark Rosary," said Masahiro.  
  
Tenkida once again hit Masahiro in the head, "Would you use your brain for once? Dark Rosary said she was coming to steal a puppy. Look around! Couldn't she be a little more specific?!" she said right before the lights went out. * Great, does she like the dark? *  
  
"Sorry, Tenkida, but I need to make this quick," said Dark Rosary.  
  
Tenkida took out a huge, bright flashlight, "Hold it, Dark Rosary! I may not even have a chance, but you're not getting away that easily!"  
  
Tenkida then turned to her right to see Dark Rosary bending down, with her back away from Tenkida, facing a little black puppy. "Oh you little cutie! ^_^"  
  
"T_T+ Did you not here a word I just said?" Tenkida asked confused. Dark Rosary still didn't answer. "Hello?"  
  
Tenkida then went over to Dark Rosary and prepared to grab her, but missed. "Why are you over there for?" Dark Rosary asked, who was outside on the roof, looking down through a glass window.  
  
Tenkida hurried outside to meet Dark Rosary. "So, that's the dog."  
  
"Yep, I need to get this little fellow home," said Dark Rosary.  
  
Tenkida just brought out something from her wrist that caught onto Dark Rosary's leg. "Heh, I'd like to see you get away now."  
  
"You're good, Tenkida, but you're not good enough," said Dark Rosary, taking out two cards. "Haha! Black Jack!" she said, throwing the two cards, cutting the string that held her leg to Tenkida's device.  
  
"Oh, no!" said Tenkida.  
  
Dark Rosary managed to get away safely and headed towards the Takeda residence. Masahiro was able to get one shot before she disappeared completely. She slipped Daihiko right in Iwa's room where he was sound asleep. "He really missed you, cutie, don't worry him anymore okay ^_^," she said. Dark Rosary then headed out the window and back to the chapel.  
  
At school.  
  
"So, Tenkida, I hear you actually agreed with Masahiro that you couldn't catch Dark Rosary, heh heh ^_^" said Dena, patting Tenkida hard on the back.  
  
"I_I+ Oh, shut up! Why does your boyfriend have to tell you everything?" said Tenkida.  
  
"_! WHAT WAS THAT?!" Dena shouted, pulling Tenkida's hair.  
  
"Ouch, you little pest! Watch it!"  
  
Everyone in the room sweat-dropped. "Tenkida, Asuka, outside," said Sister Seira gently. * Even Dark Rosary needs to be taught a lesson some time ^_^*  
  
Tenkida and Dena looked at each other furiously, "Ngh! See what you did?!" The both yelled.  
  
"Are those two always going to be like this? ^_^*" Rohiroshi asked Masahiro.  
  
"Afraid so, Azuma," said Masahiro.  
  
"Hey, Sawatari, how bout we be friends?" said Rohiroshi holding out his hand.  
  
Masahiro hesitated, then smiled and shook Rohiroshi's hand, "I'd like that."  
  
So how did everyone like that chapter? Sorry it took a little longer than suspected, but my mom is getting on my case about my grades in writing v_v (out of all classes) Well, I sure hope you review ^_^ I hope I get to start another chapter soon. 


	6. Mayu Sendo in Prison!

Hey ppls ^_^. I worked really hard on this chapter and it was very hard to figure out which story I should do first.I sure hope u enjoy! * Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Tail or any of it's characters, but all the new ones are all mine! mwahahaha  
  
Masami Tenkida had once again visited the Pandora shop to see Mayu Sendo. "Back so soon, Miss Tenkida?" asked the fortuneteller.  
  
"Mayu Sendo, have you yet decided whether to tell me the true identity of Dark Rosary?" Tenkida asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Tenkida, but I have already told you: that information is confidential," said Mayu.  
  
"Very well then. Mom?" said Tenkida.  
  
A woman then came in from the corner. "Mayu Sendo, you are now placed under arrest unless you confess immediately," said Koki Tenkida.  
  
"Very well. Here are my wrists, you may cuff them now," said Mayu.  
  
"If that is your choice." Detective Koki trailed off.  
  
Night at the Asuka residence.  
  
Dena was up in her room when she heard a sudden cry from her mother, "Dena! Dena, come down here quick!"  
  
Dena rushed down to see what was the matter. "What is it, Mom? What's wrong?"  
  
"Come see the news," said Meimi.  
  
Dena gazed into the TV screen, where it seemed to show a special report. The female reporter looked into the camera, "We have just been informed that this afternoon Detective Koki Tenkida has made an arrest to a Mayu Sendo."  
  
"What?!" Dena said, with the biggest surprise look on her face.  
  
The reporter continued, "Mayu Sendo was said to know the true identity of the thief Dark Rosary. After she refused to reveal the truth, she was arrested in her shop 'Pandora'."  
  
Dena shut off the TV. "Oh no, this is awful! I'm going to go visit her first thing tomorrow after school."  
  
"Do you want me to tag along?" her mom asked.  
  
"No, I'll have Masahiro come."  
  
At school.  
  
"So where are we going again after school?" Masahiro asked Dena.  
  
"Oh, don't you ever watch the news? You're a reporter aren't you?" Dena asked, confused at the fact.  
  
"Of course I do, but why do we have to go see her?"  
  
"Go see who?" asked Tenkida with Rohiroshi right next to her.  
  
"We're going to see Miss Sendo for an interview, since I'm always interested in writing about Dark Rosary," said Masahiro quickly.  
  
"Really?" said Rohiroshi, "Can I co-"  
  
"No!" both Masahiro and Dena said.  
  
"Oh, okay," Rohiroshi sweat-dropped at the two.  
  
"Uh, it's not like we don't want you to go, Rohiroshi," said Dena, before stepping on Masahiro's foot.  
  
"Um, it's just that." Masahiro thought for a second, "They have a limit to two people per visit. Yeah, that's it."  
  
* Gee, Masahiro, you really need acting lessons. * thought Dena T_T. "I thought the limit was 3," said Tenkida. (AU: I don't really know the limit. Is there a limit?_? )  
  
Dena started to rage, "Well you're not very updated are you, Tenkida?!"  
  
"Asuka, I'll have you know that I happen to be a junior detective! I know about these things and the limit is three!!" Tenkida raised her voice higher than Dena.  
  
Rohiroshi sweat dropped once again, "You know, I just won't go okay? ^_^*"  
  
"_ FINE!" Dena and Tenkida said evilly. They then continued to argue.  
  
After School.  
  
Dena and Masahiro headed over to go visit Mayu in jail. They had to hurry so no one would suspect anything. The officer led them to the hall where the jail cells were, and pointed them in the direction of the last cell where Mayu was.  
  
Mayu looked up from where she was staring to see Dena and Masahiro standing on the other side of the bars. "They wont even let me go out the cafeteria, heh," she said.  
  
"Why don't you just hypnotize the guards so you can escape?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"Why? So she can have a true reason to be behind bars? v_v+" Dena said, wanting to knock common sense into Masahiro's brain. She looked up to Mayu. "Miss Sendo-"  
  
"Please, just call me Mayu."  
  
"Uh, Mayu, you shouldn't have kept my identity a secret if it meant going to jail yourself. Strike that! If you didn't come here none of this would have happened," said Dena.  
  
"Once again I am at fault I suppose," said Mayu calmly. "Tell me, Dena, what is the true reason of your visit?"  
  
"You're the fortune teller," said Masahiro. Dena knocked him on the head.  
  
"I'm going to get you out of here somehow. It isn't fair that you are in here and not me. If it means spilling my identity, then I will," said Dena.  
  
"What?!" said Masahiro to his serious friend.  
  
Dena just stared at the ground. Mayu spoke up, "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to do that."  
  
"Huh?" Dena asked.  
  
"This is my mess, and I intend to clean it up," said Mayu. "Now go, before someone overhears our conversation."  
  
"But." Dena trailed off.  
  
"I will be fine," said Mayu.  
  
"Come on, Dena. We'll find a way to help her out," said Masahiro.  
  
Masahiro lead Dena out. She turned around one last time, "I promise, Mayu, I'll get you out of here. I'll find a way."  
  
Dena's room.  
  
"This is awful. I feel so useless," said Dena, who was fiddling with her socks.  
  
"You're not that useless, Dena," said Masahiro.  
  
"_+ What do you mean 'not that useless' Masahiro?!"  
  
"I, uh, um."  
  
"You're not supposed to put me down like that you know!" Dena turned her evil glare closer to him.  
  
"Uh, you're right. Sorry," Masahiro blushed and looked down at the ground, sweat dropping and scratching his cheek. He looked back up to see Dena now smiling at him and giggling. "H-hey! What's so funny?"  
  
"Heehee, you may be my best friend but you are as cute as a little puppy when you're guilty ^_^ " said Dena, making Masahiro blush more.  
  
Masahiro humphed and got back to the subject. "Well, is there any chance whatsoever that if you should reveal your identity, the Feds won't mine? Maybe they might be like your dad. You didn't even have to use that elixir on him, heh."  
  
"The elixir! The elixir! You're a genius, Masahiro!" Dena exclaimed.  
  
Masahiro had a confused expression his face, "I am?"  
  
"Yeah! If we get them to drink the elixir while freeing Mayu, then maybe it may feel like a dream to them," said Dena. Still excided.  
  
"I guess I see where you're coming at, but how do you suppose we're going to get them to free her?"  
  
"Well, there really is only one way," said Dena. Masahiro hit Dena on the head. "Ouch! What was that for?!"  
  
"I know what you're thinking, and I wont let you. Neither will Mayu," said Masahiro.  
  
"Well, you have any other ideas?!"  
  
"v_v In case you forgot, I'm a photographer," said Masahiro, all of sudden sipping a cup of tea. (where'd he get that from?)  
  
"Ah." said Dena, with the face of a sly fox.  
  
Fun Fun Theme Park.(haha)  
  
Tenkida was at the Fun Fun theme park, a place where she had to take her little sister for the day. Dena and Masahiro were closely spying on her.  
  
"Uh, Dena why am I in a clown suit?" Masahiro asked, sweat dropping.  
  
"You get to be the one who takes the picture of Tenkida here right?" Dena asked.  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
"You can't let her know it's you, so this is a disguise ^_^."  
  
"v_v You owe me big time," said Masahiro, heading towards Tenkida and her little sister. The two girls were saying hi to one of the characters, Jub Jub (I'm randomly picking names here), who was a big yellow pig with a red hat that had a propeller on his head. "Hey, Miss ^_^," said Masahiro all cheery, "Would you and your little sister like to take a picture with, er, Jub Jub?"  
  
"Yeah, Yeah, Masami! Picture please," said Tenkida's little sister.  
  
Tenkida looked at her sister who was pulling on her sleeve. "I guess one picture can't hurt anyone," she said.  
  
"Okay then, stand right next to Jub Jub and say cheeeese!" said Masahiro.  
  
Tenkida and her little sister both put their arms around Jub Jub and said, "^-^Cheeese." Masahiro took the picture, making sure he left Tenkida's little sister out of the photo.  
  
"Okay, all done, thank you! Oh, and here's a voucher," said Masahiro, sprinting off.  
  
"Uh, thanks," said Tenkida. * What a weird guy. *  
  
Dena and Masahiro then hurried out of the park. "That was so humiliating! And why do I always have to do the dirty work?" said Masahiro.  
  
"Hahaha, I'm sorry. Hahaha," said Dena.  
  
"You sure don't sound like it T_T," said Masahiro.  
  
"Hahaha, 'Now stand next to Jub Jub and say cheeeese!' hahaha," Dena laughed.  
  
"What did you expect?! You try dressing as a clown."  
  
"Okay, okay. How about I treat you to some ice cream as an apology?" said Dena, putting out her hand.  
  
"Apology accepted," said Masahiro, shaking her hand.  
  
At school next day.  
  
"Pst, Masahiro," Aivi motioned for him to come.  
  
"What is it?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"Anything going on with you and Dena yet? I saw you two together at the ice cream parlor yesterday. Alone, may I add?" said Aivi in a quiet voice.  
  
"We're always alone together, hanging out. It's kind of what friends do T_T" Masahiro replied in a plain tone.  
  
"Okay, okay. Listen, if you run out of any pathetic attempts to grab Dena's attention, I may have a little plan that just might work."  
  
Aivi finally grabbed Masahiro's attention, "Not that I'm interested, but I'm listening."  
  
While Masahiro was listening to Aivi's plot for him to win Dena's heart, Dena was near the window, having a conversation with Rohiroshi. "So, what's the deal with those two?" Rohiroshi asked, looking at Aivi and Masahiro. "They always seem to be talking to each other in the morning. I always thought he liked you though."  
  
* Everyone seems to be thinking that! * "I guess I never thought about their relationship before, but I can assure you that Masahiro doesn't like me. He's almost like a brother," said Dena.  
  
"What about you?" Rohiroshi asked.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah, do you like him?"  
  
Dena's eyes went wide. "Masahiro? You mean like him like him?"  
  
"Yeah," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"I." Dena paused, "I don't know."  
  
"I see."  
  
Aivi had just told Masahiro what seemed to be a backfiring, ridiculous plan. "What are you nuts?! Someone sure reads Marmalade Boy a little too much!" (quick AU: I do not own Marmalade Boy)  
  
Aivi looked at Masahiro shocked, "I'm surprised you, a boy, even knows what Marmalade Boy is."  
  
"This is never going to work, Aivi. Might I remind you what happened in MB? The guy's plan didn't work! Poof, in smokes it went," Masahiro rambled on.  
  
"Okay, Yoda T_T. Fine, don't come crying to me when you see Dena prancing around with Azuma v_v"  
  
"Don't worry about that," said Masahiro.  
  
He suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, cheating on Asuka I see, Sawatari," said the voice of Tenkida.  
  
"What?! I'm not cheating on nobody! Me and Dena aren't going out, and me and Aivi were just talking!" Masahiro lost it and put his stress towards Tenkida.  
  
"Dude chill," said Tenkida.  
  
"Well, Tenkida believes it! Might as well announce we're a couple ^_^" Aivi laughed, putting her arm around Masahiro.  
  
"Agh! Don't even joke about that!"  
  
"Boy I wonder what's going on over there," said Rohiroshi who was still on the other side of the room with Dena.  
  
"Looks like Tenkida's pestering Masahiro again v_v," said Dena, "I better go over there and help him."  
  
"I'll tag along then," said Rohiroshi, following Dena.  
  
"I swear, Tenkida," said Masahiro, "sometimes I think you're the one who likes Dena."  
  
"Oh, so you do like her then _" said Tenkida.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that! Okay it's time to change the subject v_v"  
  
Dena and Rohiroshi finally stepped in, "Hey what's going on over here? Tenkida if you're pestering Masahiro."Dena trailed off.  
  
"Aww. look, Masahiro, little Dena is worried about you," said Tenkida, pinching Masahiro's cheeks.  
  
"Who are you calling little?!_+"  
  
"I THOUGHT WE DROPPED THE SUBJECT ALREADY?!" Masahiro yelled with a big head, and fiery red eyes, causing everyone to sweat-drop. He finally came back to his normal state and grabbed Tenkida's hand.  
  
"Ah! What are you doing?!" Tenkida shouted, slightly blushing.  
  
Masahiro examined Tenkida's hand more closely. "Giving yourself calling cards now?"  
  
"Huh?" Tenkida looked at her hand. "Wagh! When did that get there?"  
  
* I didn't even notice Dena put that there! * Thought Masahiro.  
  
Without the ability to take the confusing silence anymore, Rohiroshi read the calling card (or calling hand for that matter ^_^) "Tonight I will come for Mayu Sendo - Dark Rosary."  
  
"Hm? That's pretty unusual. It's not like Dark Rosary to come for a person," said Gyoko, popping out of nowhere.  
  
"Agh! When'd you get here?!" everyone said with a little fright in their voices.  
  
"Just now, but none of you seemed to notice."  
  
"I wonder what Dark Rosary has up her sleeve," said Tenkida, stroking her chin.  
  
"This is going to be a scoop! 'Dark Rosary frees an innocent prisoner,'" said Masahiro.  
  
"She knows the identity of Dark Rosary! How can you call her innocent?" Tenkida asked a little annoyed.  
  
"Really, Tenkida, what crime did she commit? She just wants to protect a friend who is acting like Robin Hood, with a Prince John on her tail," said Dena.  
  
"Geez, you've been hanging around Sister Seira a little too much, Asuka," said Tenkida.  
  
At the chapel.  
  
"Keep in mind, Dena, if you illegally free Mayu Sendo then you will truly be a criminal," said Seira.  
  
"Yes, I know. But, Masahiro and I have a plan," said Dena.  
  
"Oh, really."  
  
"Yes, I just hope it works. It's pretty risky."  
  
"I see," said Seira. She closed her eyes and clenched together her hands. "I shall pray for you here."  
  
"Thank you," said Dena, getting up to go prepare for Mayu's rescue.  
  
"Wait Dena," said Seira, taking something out from a box. "I want you to have this."  
  
She handed Dena violet prayer beads. "Wow, thanks Seira ^_^ I'll use them every time I go to church," Dena said, heading out.  
  
At the jail (prison sounds to harsh!)  
  
* How is Dena going to make her entrance? * Masahiro thought, showing a worried look on his face.  
  
Tenkida examined the boy to her right. "What's bugging you? You seem nervous about something. Don't tell me that you're scared, Sawatari," she said.  
  
"Scared?! Scared of what?! The only thing to be scared about here is you! And I'm not even afraid of that," said Masahiro, lying through his teeth.  
  
"Sawatari," Mayu whispered. Masahiro got the message and went over to Mayu without Tenkida noticing. "What is Dena planning?"  
  
"Don't worry, Miss Sendo. She's not going to reveal her identity or anything like that," said Masahiro.  
  
The lights then shut off. Tenkida looked around, "Dark Rosary, this whole shutting off the lights thing is really started to get old and annoying. Are you running out of tricks? You can sure lose an audience that way."  
  
"I'm just doing this so you can't see my lovely face, hehe," said Dark Rosary, who was currently floating down in the jail hall. She stayed a good distance away from Tenkida, who was rummaging around the place, looking for a flashlight. "You know why I'm here, Masami Tenkida. Let my friend go or else I'll be forced to do something."  
  
"Heh, you think it's that easy, don't you Dark Rosary? I came prepared this time," said Tenkida, forming a smirk on her face.  
  
"Huh?" Dark Rosary said confused. She then felt two men grab her by the arms, "Oh, no!"  
  
"It's time to see who you truly are Dark Rosary!" said Tenkida, running towards her with a flashlight in her hand.  
  
* Dena! * Masahiro thought in his head, feeling useless as he watched his friend's last moments of freedom.  
  
"You're predictable, Tenkida!" said Dark Rosary. "One. Two. Three!" *Poof* and Dark Rosary got out of the guards grasp. "Do you really think I would let you catch me that easy? You may be prepared, Tenkida, but I'm always one step ahead of you." Dark Rosary was now hanging from balloons.  
  
"I'm not letting you win this time, Dark Rosary," said Tenkida, with a boomerang in her hand. She threw it hard, causing the balloons to pop.  
  
"You're getting good at this," said Dark Rosary. "I take it you're not letting Mayu go just yet. I was afraid I'd have to use this."  
  
"Use what?!" Tenkida asked, trying to get a view of Dark Rosary's face with the flashlight.  
  
"Let me just give you a little glimpse of what's going to happen," said Dark Rosary. She took a bunch of photos of Tenkida taking a picture with Jub Jub and threw them to all the prisoners in the jail cells.  
  
Tenkida finally grabbed a picture for herself. "That's really dirty! I took this picture with my sister! She'll tell everyone that she took the picture with me."  
  
"Not so fast, Tenkida," said Dark Rosary. She took a bottle out, "You see this? This is an elixir. This elixir made your sister forget that she even took that picture (it's more vulnerable on children.) Now, I'm giving you 2 chances. You can let Mayu out right now, or you feel the humiliation of that picture for as long as you can handle. Once you get fed up with that, I'll simply erase everyone's memory of the picture, but you have to let Mayu go!"  
  
"Grrr," said Tenkida. She paused for a long time until she finally made her decision. "Fine Dark Rosary, you win." She took a key chain out of her pocket and opened the gate to Mayu's cellar. "You're free."  
  
Mayu walked out and bowed, "Thank you." She then turned to Dark Rosary and bowed, "You are a very good friend. Don't ever lose that quality." She walked off and left the jail.  
  
"Okay, she's free Dark Rosary. Now hand over those pictures!" said Tenkida.  
  
"No way! If you ever decide to go back on your word, I'll have these. And there won't be a warning next time, Tenkida," said Dark Rosary. "Hehe, bye bye now ^_^"  
  
* She scared the crap out of me! * Masahiro thought in panic.  
  
Next morning at school.(we sure are at school a lot here)  
  
Dena was sitting at her desk, laying down her head. "You sure look tired today, Dena," said Rohiroshi. "Why is that?"  
  
"I didn't do my homework till late last night. I had some unfinished business to do," said Dena with a drowsy look on her face.  
  
Rohiroshi smiled and took off his jacket. "Well, you can use this as a pillow until class starts," he said, handing his jacket to Dena.  
  
She had a slight blush, "Oh, thank you, Rohiroshi."  
  
"Welcome."  
  
Masahiro was in the corner with Aivi, suddenly getting extremely jealous. "Haha, I warned you, Masahiro. Look at you getting jealous," said Aivi.  
  
"I'm not jealous!"  
  
"Aha, yeah, sure. There's still my plan you know. Interested?" Aivi asked.  
  
Masahiro stayed quiet to think about it. "Fine! But if it backfires, you owe me big time."  
  
Gyoko went over to Tenkida who was just staring out the window. "So, how was it last nig-"  
  
"DON'T ASK!!"  
  
"Eek!" said Gyoko as she ran over to Rohiroshi and Dena.  
  
AU: So, how'd you like it? I made it longer as some of you requested. I'm thinking of making this story about 10 chapters long.still debating though. The series was only 7 books long anyway. Well, anyways.you know the drill! Review Review! 


	7. Heartbreak Friendship part 1

Hello everyone.time to update to chapter 6 ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Saint Tail or any of the original characters.but I do own the new ones!!  
  
This chapter is going to have two parts to it, so unless you review, part two of this story won't happen for a while.  
  
Morning at Asuka residence.  
  
Dena walked downstairs to the kitchen where Meimi was fixing up breakfast. " Hey, mom, did Masahiro get here yet?"  
  
Meimi looked back at her daughter. "Oh, that's right. I remember now," she said as she dried her hands, after washing some dishes.  
  
"Huh?" Dena asked, confused.  
  
"Masahiro called today to ask you if you could walk to school on your own today."  
  
Dena suddenly stopped everything she was doing. "Oh, really? That's unlike him. I don't really remember ever walking to school or home without Masahiro," she said, causing herself to frown, only to find herself quickly recovering. " ^_^ Well, it will be a good experience!"  
  
Dena quickly ate her breakfast and hastily ran out the door. She walked for a few minutes, only to find that she had no clue where she was going. "*anime tears* I don't how to get to school!" she exclaimed. * I always walked with Masahiro to school since day one v_v. I never actually took the time to remember the route! *  
  
Suddenly Dena heard a voice behind her. "Asuka, is that you?" She turned to see Tenkida standing before her.  
  
*Tenkida! I'm saved! Wait, what the heck am I saying?! * Dena thought in her head. "Yes, Tenkida. You have good eyes," she said sarcastically.  
  
" Whatever. Where's your boyfriend? I heard he dumped you," said Tenkida, with her arms folded.  
  
"Tenkida, how many times do I have to tell you that Masahiro is just a-! Wait what do you mean dumped me?" Dena asked.  
  
"Oh, you know. This weekend Sawatari hooked up with Aivi."  
  
Dena stood frozen and shocked, "W-What?!"  
  
"What, you mean you didn't know? I thought Sawatari was your best friend?" Tenkida asked the frozen girl. "Asuka? Yo, Asuka, are you okay?"  
  
Dena shook her shock off. "Um, yeah I'm fine. Tenkida, you think you could show me the way to school?"  
  
"Huh?" Tenkida asked. * Geez this girl must be in shock. She doesn't even remember how to get to school. v_v Asuka is losing it! * "I guess I could be nice just this once." * I can't risk you running into the street *  
  
"Uh, thanks, I guess," said Dena, following Tenkida as they started to walk. * Why didn't Masahiro tell me? I thought I was his best friend?"  
  
At school.  
  
Everyone besides Tenkida and Dena where already at the classroom, waiting for homeroom to start. It took a lot of people by surprise to both Dena and Masami Tenkida walking in the room at the same time. "Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Gyoko asked Rohiroshi.  
  
" I think we're both hallucinating," he replied.  
  
Tenkida walked up to Masahiro. " You could have at least had the decency to give Asuka directions before ditching her, Sawatari," she said to him.  
  
Dena had a questionable look on her face as she faced Masahiro. "Uh, hi, Dena. Look, sorry about that. I thought you knew how to get to school, honestly." Dena gave Masahiro one last quick, cold stare then looked down and walked over to Gyoko and Rohiroshi.  
  
"Yikes, that wasn't pretty," said Aivi, who was standing right next Masahiro.  
  
"I guess I should have told her first v_v," Spoke Masahiro's guilt.  
  
Aivi quickly slapped him across the back of his head. "Masahiro, this is no time for a guilt trip! It's only been the morning and you're already beginning to give in. Man, haven't you ever acted before?!" Aivi said.  
  
Masahiro just looked at Aivi. * You have no idea * he thought to himself. "But, still. She is my best friend, but she was the last to find out about 'us'. I don't want her to hate me for it."  
  
Aivi sighed, "Fine, but if you screw up the plan, you're on your own."  
  
"Uh, thanks I think," said Masahiro as he headed toward Dena and the others.  
  
Rohiroshi and Gyoko watched as Dena stared down at the ground as if she wanted to crush it. "Um, Dena, are you and Masahiro in a fight?" Gyoko asked, keeping a safe distance away from her.  
  
"I'm not speaking to that jerk!" said Dena.  
  
"Well, it looks like 'that jerk' is coming this way," said Rohiroshi, ushering Gyoko to leave while he followed slowly behind her.  
  
Dena grabbed Rohiroshi by the collar. "Stay here if you wish to live!" she evilly said.  
  
Rohiroshi sweat dropped, "Um, uh, yes, ma'am."  
  
Masahiro came up to the ghostly Dena and the traumatized Rohiroshi. "Rohiroshi, would you mind letting me talk alone with Dena for a sec?" He asked.  
  
Rohiroshi hesitated. "You see, Masahiro, I would, but I treasure my life," he stated.  
  
Dena let go of Rohiroshi's collar and gave him the sign that he's allowed to leave. She then gave Masahiro, once again, a cold stare. "What do you want? Is something else going on with you that I might need to know last?" She said in a too calm voice.  
  
"Look, Dena, I came to apologize to you," said Masahiro.  
  
"Fine, apologize."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Okay, apology not accepted," said Dena as she walked over to her desk, getting ready for class to start.  
  
"She must hate you," said Tenkida, who was right behind Masahiro. "Of, course I would too if my best friend didn't even bother to tell me why he decided to ditch me the whole weekend and the morning we were supposed to walk to school, leaving me lost, having to resort with walking to school with my worst enemy."  
  
A vein popped out of Masahiro's head before it grew and he shouted to Tenkida, "SHUT UP!"  
  
After school.  
  
Dena headed outside of her school and decided to go to the chapel alone to see Sister Seira. She headed inside and walked down the long aisle and headed into the confessional that Seira had kept the key of for many years. Seira finally spotted Dena and motioned for her to sit down while she did as well. "So, I suppose I know why you're here, Dena," said Seira with a sweet smile.  
  
"Of course you do, Seira. I'm here to see if there are any lost lambs to save," said Dena looking down. She then looked up to see Seira still smiling. "Huh?"  
  
"Now, Dena, I know that isn't all that you came for. Something is bothering you. I could tell in class today. Has it got something to do with Masahiro?" Seira said, folding her hands together on the table.  
  
"H-how'd you know?" Dena asked. * I know Mayu can possibly be psychic, but this is ridiculous. *  
  
"You've been avoiding him all day," said Seira as a matter of fact. " Why don't you tell me what's been going on?"  
  
"Okay well it all started this morning," Dena started.  
  
Pandora shop.  
  
While Dena was talking to Seira over at the chapel, Masahiro needed his own person to talk to. He walked inside Mayu Sendo's shop and sat down in the chair right in front of the table where she was sitting that had a crystal ball on it. "Never thought I'd see you here, Masahiro."  
  
"Believe me, I didn't either, but the odds are that Dena is talking to Sister Seira right now, so I'm stuck with you," said Masahiro with a stressed look.  
  
"I'll try my hardest not to take that as an insult. Why don't you tell me what's going on."  
  
"v_v Dena hates me," said Masahiro in a sad tone.  
  
"About time she got a new best friend," Mayu mumbled.  
  
"_+ I heard that!"  
  
"You really liked Dena, so you took a stupid plot out of a shojo manga and decided to test it out in reality," Mayu all of a sudden said out of the blue.  
  
"Okay, how'd you know that?" Masahiro asked with a spooked voice.  
  
"I AM a psychic after all T_T."  
  
"Oh, yeah. I forgot," said Masahiro, holding the back of his neck. "You think you can tell me if this plan would work if I continued it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"What?!" Masahiro exclaimed.  
  
"No, I cannot tell you how this will end up. You will have to figure it out on your own," said Mayu.  
  
Back at the chapel.  
  
"I see," said Seira, "but, Dena, he did apologize."  
  
"I know. And I didn't forgive him. I was just so mad that he kept this from me, plus, I was almost late for class. I feel so ashamed of myself," said Dena, once again looking down at the ground.  
  
"You need to go forgive him to let him know that you're happy for him, Dena," said Seira, getting out of her chair. "This conversation is over. I want you to go talk to Masahiro now."  
  
"Alright," said Dena as she too got out of her chair. She left the confessional to go out from the chapel and look for Masahiro. She saw that Masahiro had just run a long way (since he was catching his breath) to meet Aivi in front of the school.  
  
"There she is behind you," Aivi whispered to Masahiro. "And she can see us. Here's our chance."  
  
"For what?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"Kiss me." Aivi said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Kiss me!"  
  
"Nah uh!"  
  
"Kiss me!!"  
  
"No!!"  
  
"Masahiro!"  
  
"Aivi!"  
  
"She's coming! If you want this to work, Masahiro." Aivi trailed off. With that Masahiro hesitated then grabbed Aivi and gave her a long kiss on the lips.  
  
* Oh my god! * Dena thought to herself. * What was that I just saw? * Dena then felt her chest as if it were hurting. What's this feeling? It feels so sad. Why am I starting to get it. It's as if me heart has just been stepped on.*  
  
Aivi then looked at the green haired girl who was just a few yards ahead of her and spoke as if she didn't notice she was there, "Oh dear! Dena, you didn't just see that did you?"  
  
Dena was frozen everywhere. She couldn't move or speak. Masahiro was also frozen. He couldn't face Dena after what he had just did. Dena finally brought up the courage to say something, "I.um. I have to go home. I have lots of homework to do, you know." Dena then turned around and started running home as fast she could.  
  
It was not long before Dena knocked into somebody since she wasn't looking where she was going. Luckily it was somebody she knew, Rohiroshi. She had knocked him down while he was on his way home from Kajukembo (form of martial arts, which have Kenpo, Kung Fu, Karate, and Jujitsu all in one). "What's the rush Dena?" he asked. He then saw Dena now in tears. "Dena?"  
  
Dena then shook off her tears for a short while. "I'm sorry, Rohiroshi. Were you hurt?"  
  
"No, but are you okay?" Rohiroshi asked. "I can't help but notice that whenever we bump into each other like this you always seem to be crying."  
  
"I-I was crying?" Dena asked.  
  
* Don't tell me she didn't know. * Rohiroshi then got up and brushed himself off, then helped Dena up as well. "Listen, Dena, you seem like you're in some kind of shock. I don't trust you going home on your own, so I'll walk with you."  
  
"You don't need to do that, Rohiroshi. I'm fine really," said Dena.  
  
"No, I'll walk you home," Rohiroshi insisted.  
  
"Okay.Thanks."  
  
Front of Dena's Door.  
  
"Now you sure nothing is bothering you?" Rohiroshi asked just in case Dena decided to confess the problem.  
  
She finally shook her head. "Thanks for walking me home."  
  
"Your welcome. I'll see you later," said Rohiroshi as he waved goodbye and started to jog home.  
  
Dena smiled as she watched Rohiroshi until he disappeared. The smile then quickly turned into a frown as Dena walked upstairs into her room. She sat down at her desk and started to cry as she rested her head on her arms. *What's wrong with me? I should be happy for Masahiro. *  
  
Dena then looked up at the notebook that Masahiro told her to hold. *I should give this back to him, so he can give it to Aivi. *  
  
Next morning.  
  
Dena was just putting her shoes on to get ready to go to school. "Not walking with Masahiro today either?" asked Meimi, who was right behind her.  
  
Dena turned around, "Um, no. He has no time for me now since he has a girlfriend v_v" said Dena.  
  
"You sound like you don't support his relationship," said Meimi.  
  
Dena didn't know what to say about that, but luckily she was saved. "Hello, Dena," said Rohiroshi, who was at her front door.  
  
"Oh, hi Rohiroshi. What are you doing here?" Dena asked, surprised to see him.  
  
"Well, I still wasn't comfortable with you walking by yourself at your current state just yet, so I was wondering if I may walk you to school," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"My, and who is this charming young gentleman?" Meimi asked, astonished by Rohiroshi's politeness and grammar.  
  
"Oh, excuse me for not introducing myself, Mrs. Asuka. My name is Rohiroshi Azuma. I'm a friend and classmate of Dena," said Rohiroshi, bowing.  
  
"Well it's very nice to meet you. Well, I better let you two get on to school now," said Meimi, shooing Dena.  
  
In the classroom.  
  
Shortly after arriving in the classroom, Dena sent Tenkida to give a message to Masahiro. "Sawatari, Asuka whishes to meet you at lunch in front of the locker rooms," she said.  
  
"Okay, this may sound a little strange, but why are you telling me this?" Masahiro asked. "Dena is your sworn enemy."  
  
"Listen, she promised me that if you refused to meet her, I can beat the living tar out of you," said Tenkida, clenching her fists.  
  
"Uh, okay, I get it. I'll go see her at lunch!" Said Masahiro, backing away from Tenkida and her fist.  
  
"Darn," Tenkida whispered. Aivi giggled.  
  
Lunch time.  
  
Masahiro arrived in front of the locker rooms on time, where he finally spotted Dena approaching with something in her arms. "Hey, Dena, so have you cooled down yet?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"More or less," Dena just said. She then held out the notebook as if she wanted Masahiro to take it. "Here."  
  
Masahiro recognized the notebook at once. "That's the notebook! The one you said you would hold for me until I worked up the courage to give it to the person I liked."  
  
"Yes, and it was obviously Aivi, so here. Take it," Said Dena, still holding it out.  
  
Masahiro didn't want to take it. He couldn't take it because that notebook was for Dena. He wanted her to keep because she was the one the he liked, not Aivi. "No, Dena, I can't take that," he finally said.  
  
"You said you'd give it to the person you liked, didn't you? Well, take it," said Dena.  
  
"No, I can't give it to her."  
  
"Why? Are you afraid?!"  
  
"No, that's not it!"  
  
"THEN WHY, MASAHIRO?!" Dena finally shouted out loud, in tears. There was a short silence until Dena spoke once again, "I can't hold onto this notebook anymore, so just take it."  
  
"Dena, please, don't make me take that notebook. I want you to keep it for me. Please, you're my best friend. I'll tell you why I can't take that notebook.soon. Just please be patient," said Masahiro calmly.  
  
"Why don't you yell at me when you argue back? Here I am frustrated, yelling my lungs out, and you're calm," said Dena.  
  
"I can't yell at you. Not ever. You're my best friend, so-"  
  
"No!" Dena said in a strong tone.  
  
"What?" Masahiro asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, Masahiro, but I can't be your best friend. Something is bothering, and I don't know what it is, but I can't be friends with you or Aivi," Dena said, sniffling here and there.  
  
"No, Dena. You can't be serious! We've best friends ever since we were babies, and you want to throw that all away? Dena, please don't so this!" Said Masahiro, beginning to feel a few tears come.  
  
But, Dena ignored Masahiro and began to walk away from him in tears. It was the hardest thing she ever had to say to him, let alone anyone. * I'm sorry, Masahiro. But, right.right now.seeing you with Aivi.It's tearing me apart. *  
  
Dena and Masahiro went back up to the classroom and didn't speak a word to each other. "So, Sawatari, what did you and Asuka talk about? Did you two make up yet?" Tenkida asked. Then she noticed something trickling down Masahiro's cheek. "What the?! Are you crying?"  
  
"What's wrong, Masahiro?" Aivi asked.  
  
Tenkida then ran over to the other side where Dena was. "Asuka, what's wrong with Sawatari? He looks like he's about to have a nervous break down! Asuka?" Tenkida then saw Dena in even more pain than Masahiro.  
  
"Dena?" Rohiroshi and Gyoko asked.  
  
Tenkida then dragged both Gyoko and Rohiroshi over to the windows then signed with her finger for Aivi to come join the discussion. "Okay, right now I'm used to at least one of them yelling at me for teasing or for just getting into their business," said Tenkida. "Does anyone know what's up with those two?"  
  
"I see what you mean," said Aivi.  
  
"Yeah it's kind of spooky. It's almost as if they've broken up, but they're not even together," said Gyoko.  
  
"I don't know. It seems more critical than that, but I think you've kind of got the right idea, Gyoko," said Rohiroshi looking over at the two gloomy friends.  
  
"Huh? What do you mean, Rohiroshi?" Gyoko asked.  
  
"It's almost like they cut off their ties of friendship," said a voice outside the group. Everyone looked over to see Sister Seira staring at both Dena and Masahiro who were for once so far apart from each other. Sadness was written all over sister Seira's face. "I'm sure it burdens all of us to see these two best friends not even glancing at each other."  
  
"Sister Seira." Aivi trailed off. "Are you sure?"  
  
Seira looked down. "I was there. I was just looking out the window to see a beautiful view. Then I saw it. It too brought tears to my eyes to see them walk away from each other. This shall break my heart every day to see two of God's children like this."  
  
"No, they can't! They couldn't!" Rohiroshi protested.  
  
"They've been best friends since even before we knew them," said Gyoko. "It just can't be."  
  
"Yeah, even I can't stand this," said Tenkida. She then held out her fist. "Those two better clear their heads soon or I'll do it for them."  
  
"Let's hope it doesn't resort to that," said Aivi with a sweat drop.  
  
At the chapel.  
  
"Dena, excuse me, please. I don't think I heard that right," said Seira after Dena had told her something.  
  
"I can't be Dark Rosary anymore. I can't do anything that."  
  
"Reminds you of Masahiro," Seira finished.  
  
"I'm so sorry Seira. It just won't be the same," said Dena. She then touched her long hair.  
  
"Don't do it, Dena," said Seira. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you cut your hair."  
  
"I have to, Seira. It's a promise that I'll never become Dark Rosary again," said Dena.  
  
"Dena, you are my student, but you're still my friend."  
  
"I know, Seira. You've been a great friend, so please support me in this," said Dena, taking a pair of scissors into her hand.  
  
"Okay, but please, don't let me watch."  
  
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Good bye," said Dena, tucking the scissors into her bag and running out of the chapel.  
  
"Good bye.Dark Rosary," said Seira softly.  
  
Okay, don't laugh, but I actually cried while writing this chapter! It's really sad being the author you know. Please review, so I can reveal part 2! 


	8. Heartbreak Friendship part 2

Okay.now time for part two of this twisted chapter. I wonder what's going to happen myself ^_^  
  
*Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Saint Tail or any of the ORIGINAL characters, but don't sue me for the new ones!  
  
Dena ran home, without bumping into anyone she did or did not know. She ran into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Meimi heard the racket and saw Dena unusually eager to go up to her room, so she went to check out what the rush was. She walked in on time to see Dena taking scissors and pointing them in the direction of her hair. "Dena, what on earth are you doing?!" Meimi exclaimed, running quickly towards the girl, snatching the scissors out of her hand.  
  
"I must start my new life now, mom. I don't want to do anything that will make me think about him, so I'm cutting my hair to start over," said Dena, trying to reach for the scissors that Meimi tried to keep out of her reach.  
  
"Okay slow down. What's going on? Why do you want to start a new life? And who do you want to forget?" Meimi asked her daughter who was now sitting at her dresser. Dena took out the notebook and stashed it into her small drawer. "Masahiro? What happened? Did you turn him down?"  
  
"No, mom. He likes Aivi. And when he's with her, I'm just invisible and jealous," said Dena, walking over to her bed. "I just want to forget him because I can't help but hurt when I see him with her."  
  
"You're throwing away your friendship just over that?!" Meimi asked in pure shock. "You've never fought with Masahiro before. You need to make up with him and tell him how you feel."  
  
"No!" Dena said with a tear forming in her eye. "I'm the one that ended the friendship."  
  
"Does he know why or did you leave him hanging in the dark," Meimi said, waiting for an answer. She finally realized it when Dena didn't answer. " He should at least know why you did this."  
  
"It's better that he didn't," said Dena, wiping off the tear. "He'll realize that I'm just a selfish girl that the easy, put painful way out. Please, Mom, give me the scissors."  
  
Meimi clenched the scissors in her hands, while she looked at Dena's awaiting palm. She then put a box into Dena's hand. "I don't believe this fight will last for long. Therefore, I can only give you this," she said, walking out of the room.  
  
Dena looked at the box and read it. "Black hair dye. If this is the only thing I can use, then so be it."  
  
Meimi went downstairs, into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She then heard the phone ring and picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Haneoka ^_^" said the cheery voice of Masahiro's father.  
  
"Sawatari, it's Asuka now," said Meimi. "So, what is it you want to tell me?"  
  
"Well, it's about Masahiro. He just went straight up to his room when he came home unusually earlier than expected," said Sawatari, now in a serious tone of voice. "I was wondering if Dena could speak to him or come over. Or maybe she knows what's wrong with him. I could be wrong, but I kind of once in a while hear sniffles coming from the inside of his room. I think he's crying."  
  
Meimi frowned on the other side of the telephone line. "I'm sorry, Sawatari, but Dena is sort of in the same state. I caught her trying to cut her hair."  
  
"What?! What's wrong with these two? Did someone die?"  
  
"No," said Meimi, "Though I would have preferred it. Dena broke off her friendship with Masahiro, but she seems to be in a lot of pain."  
  
"Really. Do you know why?" Sawatari asked.  
  
"Well, I don't believe it is wise to share that information just yet," said Meimi, hanging up the phone.  
  
Next Day at school.  
  
Dena walked in to the classroom with her new black hair. The room was very quiet, even when she walked in. Aivi walked up to Dena with a bright smile on her face. "Hello, Dena. I like the new look. It's the same color as my hair ^_^," she said.  
  
Dena turned to Aivi but didn't look her in the eye. "Aivi, I don't mean to offend you, but I can't speak to you for a while," she said, walking to her desk, though it wasn't the first place she wanted to go to since Masahiro was sitting right next to her. She sat down quietly and laid her chin on her hands, glancing over to the desk at her right occasionally.  
  
Every time Dena glanced over, she would see Masahiro just staring at her. She then started to become a little irritated at this fact and finally looked over to him. "Stop staring at me!" She said in a medium volume voice.  
  
"No, not until I get a reason to why I can't be your best friend, let alone your friend anymore!" Masahiro said back.  
  
"You just can't, okay?" Dena said, turning to the window.  
  
Sister Seira finally walked in and everyone got into their seats. "I have a new seating chart everyone," she said, though she thought that she shouldn't. She separated Dena and Masahiro. Dena was sat next to Rohiroshi, while Masahiro was sat next to Aivi, and Gyoko sat next to Tenkida. * It's for the best for the time being. * She thought.  
  
"You can't keep doing this," Rohiroshi whispered to Dena.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about v_v," said Dena, continuing with her studies.  
  
"I'm talking about you and Masahiro. You can't keep avoiding him," Rohiroshi said, still trying to get Dena to come to her senses. "I know you're hurting just as much as he is."  
  
Dena kept her eyesight downward onto her paper as she just thought. * What is Rohiroshi, a mind reader? Maybe I should tell Mayu about him. He's right though. I am hurting a lot. I don't know how much more of this I can take before I have a nervous breakdown. This time.this time I don't have anyone to talk to or tell me everything's going to be all right. I don't have Masahiro anymore. * She kept thinking. Dena finally looked to her paper and realized that she had been scribbling all over it while she was thinking. *Ah! Dena, you idiot! *  
  
"Dena," she finally heard Sister Seira say. "Is that a new system of writing?"  
  
Dena stared at her deformed paper. "Uh, no, I guess I was just thinking a little too much, heh. ^_^"  
  
"Please try to day dream during lunch or after school next time, okay?" Sister Seira said as she walked back up to the front of the classroom.  
  
After School.  
  
Dena decided to go straight home after that brief but embarrassing moment at school. She then realized that she had started to run out of paper, so decided to go stop by a school supply store on the way. She went to the closest one near an alley, which she personally didn't like since there were always gang members there doing who knows what.  
  
Unfortunately, that wasn't the best day to be going to that store. The gang members were unusually close, and they had always seen Dena walk this way with Masahiro. To Dena's misfortune, Masahiro wasn't there with her this time. One of the guys finally came up to her as she passed by. "Hey, where's that boy you're always with?" He asked.  
  
Dena then turned to realize how stupid she was for going this way alone. *O geez, I wouldn't even mind Tenkida being here right now. * She thought. "He went to walk another friend home," said Dena, continuing her way over to the store.  
  
"So, no one you know is near by?" the guy asked again.  
  
"v_v No," Dena blurted out. *Ah! You idiot, Dena!! *  
  
"Oh, really?" The guy asked, pulling Dena's arm, restraining her from going any further. "I guess you're out of protection then."  
  
Dena struggled to get out of the gang member's grasp, but he was too strong. "Let me go!" She yelled at him. *I can't use my magic. What am I going to do?! * She thought in stress.  
  
"Why? I have a little brother here that's just dying to meet you," he said, pulling Dena over to the alley.  
  
"Well, I'm not dying to meet him!" Dena said, still trying to get away. She had finally gone into the alley. * I'm never going this way alone again! * She thought. *If there is a next time. * Dena all of a sudden got a bright idea. * I still have the elixir. I'll just use my magic, and then give them the elix-the elixir is at home! Help! Why am I saying that in my mind?! * The gang member then took the notebook out of Dena's bag. "Give that back!"  
  
"Nah, I think I'll keep it."  
  
It just so happens that Masahiro was walking to get new pencils from the same store Dena was heading to. He strolled on the sidewalk as he was sipping his cola until he stopped because he all of a sudden heard some weird things coming from the alley. "You can be arrested, you know!" said a voice of a girl.  
  
" That's Dena's voice," he said. Masahiro walked into the alley and saw Dena trying to kick and punch anyone that came near her. "Hey!" he called out to everyone. "Just what do you suppose you are doing with her?"  
  
"Well, the girl seemed pretty lonely, so I thought I would introduce her to this little guy," said the leader of the gang, pulling out his little brother.  
  
"She doesn't seem like she's interested," said Masahiro. "Why don't you let her go? Before I just force you, I mean."  
  
Dena looked over at Masahiro. She was happy to see him, yet upset at the same time. "Oh, I recognize you," said the gang member, (AU: let's call him Bob hehe.) "You're they boy that this little lady is always with." 'Bob' (^_^hehe) clenched Dena's wrist tighter, causing her to close her eyes in pain. "So, what are you threatening me with, your bag? You gonna hit me with it, punk?"  
  
Masahiro walked up to 'Bob' with his hang in his bag. "Nah, I thought I'd just give you this," he said, bringing up his camera, flashing it in everyone's eyes, and also getting a picture to show the cops. He grabbed Dena's arm and ran out to the front of the store.  
  
Dena caught her breath then looked at Masahiro. "Thank you, but you didn't need to do that."  
  
"I heard a voice, so I went to it. It was your voice, I knew that much. I wasn't going to let them hurt you," said Masahiro.  
  
Dena looked to her bag. Then she just remembered the notebook. She rummaged in her bag to check if it was there. Masahiro looked at her strangely, "What are you doing?"  
  
"The notebook," she said, "They still have the notebook."  
  
Dena then started running toward the alley until she felt herself being restrained. "It's not worth risking your life, you idiot! It's just a notebook."  
  
"No, it was your notebook!" Said Dena, looking back to Masahiro.  
  
"Boy, I thought you didn't want anything to do with me," said Masahiro sarcastically.  
  
"The notebook. I don't care if I'm trying to forget about you! You have to give it to someone you love!"  
  
"I already did, Miss Clueless," said Masahiro. Everything fell silent, and Masahiro started to sprint home.  
  
Dena watched as Masahiro ran. * He loves me? * she asked herself. Tears started to form in her eyes. *That's it; I'm getting that notebook back! * She then started to run towards the chapel, just in case those gang members and 'Bob' decided to come for her again.  
  
She ran into the chapel and into the sealed confessional where Seira was. "Dark Rosary is back!"  
  
"Well, she was only gone for a few days," said Seira with a smile.  
  
Asuka Jr.'s office ^_^.  
  
Masahiro handed Detective Asuka the picture of the gang. "So, these people harassed my daughter?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, sir," said Masahiro.  
  
"Well, tomorrow night I shall personally deal with them," said Detective Asuka.  
  
Next day at school.(boy that was a short scene)  
  
Dena still avoided Masahiro just in case that little confession was just a fluke. She walked over to Rohiroshi, Gyoko, and Tenkida who were as always near the window. "Y'know, with all this commotion of Masahiro's and Dena's split up, no one has talked about the Dark Rosary or has even heard about another calling card from her," said Gyoko, looking over to Tenkida. "Have you gotten any calling cards, Tenkida?"  
  
"NO! NOT ONE!" Tenkida shouted with anime tears. "Why hasn't she sent one calling card?! I'm sure a bunch of things need to be stolen!"  
  
"Uh, then what's that on your back?" Rohiroshi asked, peeling a piece of paper off.  
  
"A CALLING CARD?!" Tenkida shouted once more with tears of joy.  
  
"Read it already," Rohiroshi and Gyoko said in unison.  
  
Masahiro and Aivi quickly ran over to see what it said also, although Masahiro had a hint of what it was about. "Tonight I will be in the alley near Mai's School Supplies to steal a notebook- Dark Rosary," said Dena.  
  
*I knew it. T_T Geez if she wants a notebook so bad, I'll buy it for her. * Masahiro thought.  
  
Everyone looked over to Dena as she sweat-dropped. "What? I saw it on her back a long time ago. It's not too hard to memorize."  
  
"I don't care if it's just a notebook! I got another calling card," said Tenkida in a giddy voice.  
  
"Okay, Tenkida is scaring me right now," said Gyoko.  
  
Masahiro walked over to Dena to what looks like speak to her. Everyone in the group fell silent, but briefly started to whisper. "Dena." Masahiro trailed off.  
  
"Y-yes, Masahiro?" Dena asked, not knowing what to do or say at the moment.  
  
"Can I.Can I walk home with you today?" He finally asked with a little blush. Dena didn't speak, but just nodded.  
  
After school.  
  
Masahiro left the school quietly and headed home, far away from where the alley was. Masahiro stumbled for words. He knew he had to tell Dena, but didn't know how she would react. "Dena, there's something I have to tell you," he started.  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"It's about me and Aivi.We were never together as a couple," Masahiro said, looking down, not wanting to face Dena at the current moment.  
  
Dena stopped and looked up to Masahiro. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"It was all an act. I thought if I could make you jealous, you would be the one to confess first so my chicken self wouldn't have to." Masahiro couldn't believe that he just told Dena all that. He just wanted to hit himself at that very moment.  
  
Dena's eyes started to fill with tears. "Masahiro, I admit I was jealous, but how can you make me go through that?" Dena asked, trying to wipe her eyes.  
  
"I didn't want to. You have to believe me; I didn't want to make you cry. It's just.I couldn't just tell you how I feel," said Masahiro, not being able to think for a moment. Dena started to turn to run, but Masahiro grabbed her hand. "Dena, I know there's no excuse for what I did, but please forgive me. I don't want to lose you again."  
  
"Masahiro," said Dena, walking closer to him until they finally embraced in a hug. "It was hard being close to you, but it was even harder being away from you."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Dena," said Masahiro, pulling her closer to him, not wanting to let go.  
  
Night at the alley with 'Bob' hehe.  
  
"Hey, bro, what are you going to do with that notebook?" said 'Bob's' little brother (Let's call him Joe ^_^).  
  
"The little lady found this important. I'll wait 'till she's alone again then rip it up in front of her," said 'Bob', waving around the notebook in the air. "'Joe', head home. Ma's gonna kill me for leaving you out here too long."  
  
'Joe' frowned, but did as he was told. "Ma, always ruins all the fun," he said as he walked away.  
  
'Bob' kept waving the notebook in the air then tossed it around to everyone in the game to a play a little hot potato. One person tossed it in the air one more time before a ribbon caught onto it and went up to the sky where at the other end was Dark Rosary. 'Bob' looked up. "What the? Who are you?!" he asked.  
  
"Just a person who wants to return this to a friend. You may call me Dark Rosary," said Dark Rosary, putting the notebook in her arms.  
  
"That's the famous thief, boss," said one of the gang members. "Run!"  
  
"Not so fast," said Dark Rosary, with the ribbon still in her hand. She jumped down, releasing a parachute to make her fall graceful. "I can't let you escape. The police are coming thanks to getting a picture of you guys from a young photographer."  
  
"The twerp!" said 'Bob.'  
  
"That's right," said Dark Rosary. She then took her ribbon and gathered up everyone in the gang. She wrapped the ribbon around them and tied it into a big knot. "There, that ought a hold you. I have to go now, but please tell Masami Tenkida that I'm sorry for not being here longer ^_^" Dark Rosary headed back up to the roof tops and started to run away.  
  
The cops came not to long after Dark Rosary's visit. "There they are," said Tenkida. "But, Dark Rosary! Where is she?! NOOOOOOOO!" she shouted yet again in anime tears.  
  
"You are all under arrest for harassing a young girl and also for a multiple of other crimes such as under age drinking, drugs, and stealing," said Detective Asuka with a few other officers and handcuffs.  
  
"That twerp is going to pay," whispered 'Bob' evilly.  
  
Next Morning at the Asuka residence.  
  
Dena walked into the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. Meimi noticed her daughter's joy and was happy, but seemed a bit confused. "Did something good happen today?" she asked.  
  
Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," said Dena, still smiling. She ran over to the door to open it as Meimi followed. "Hello, Masahiro."  
  
"Hi, Dena," said Masahiro with a smile on his face also. "Ready to go?"  
  
"Yup. Got to go now, Mom. See you after school okay?" said Dena heading out the door with Masahiro. Meimi smiled and closed the door. She was happy to see the two smiling again.  
  
Masahiro and Dena walked a little further away from the house until Dena stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot, Masahiro. Look," she said, holding out the notebook.  
  
Masahiro smiled and took the notebook. He then turned to Dena looking as if he was going to propose. "Dena, would you accept this notebook from me?" he asked.  
  
Dena took the notebook back in her hands and smiled back at Masahiro. "Of, course I will."  
  
The two finally caught up with Tenkida. She saw Masahiro and Dena holding each other's hands. "Well, well, well, it looks like I can call you two love birds for real now," she said, pulling Dena's cheek.  
  
"Tenkida, you can let go now T_T" said Dena, trying to pull Tenkida's hand off the cheek.  
  
They all walked into the classroom together where Rohiroshi, Aivi, and Gyoko were waiting for them by the window. Aivi walked up to Dena right away. "Dena, it was my idea, not Masahiro's. I just can't stand when I think two people should be more than friends and they're not."  
  
"It's alright Aivi. I think your plan worked after all ^_^" said Dena.  
  
"You mean." Aivi trailed off as excitement filled the classroom. "They're officially a couple! Yay!"  
  
"Alright!" said Gyoko. She then turned over to Tenkida, "By the way.How was last night."  
  
"She left before I could even get there!" said Tenkida in anger.  
  
"Oh ^_^" said Gyoko with a sweat-drop.  
  
After school.  
  
Rohiroshi, Masahiro, and Dena all walked out of school together. They were planning to go to Dena's house to study for a big test that was happening the next day. Masahiro just then remembered something. "Oh, I have to go get some pencils and bring some pictures that I took for my dad to his work," he said. "Can I meet up with you 2 later?"  
  
"Sure, Masahiro. Your dad's a journalist. We can't risk his job," said Dena.  
  
"I'll go study with Dena and take some notes for you just in case and drop them off on the way home," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"Thanks. I should be over soon," said Masahiro, running to Mai's School Supplies. Masahiro ran as fast as he could until he stopped to see 'Bob's' little brother standing in front of him. "What do you want?"  
  
"You bastard! You got my brother and his friends arrested! Now they're in jail!" yelled 'Joe'.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, but they shouldn't be able to get away with the crimes they commit," said Masahiro. "Look, I'm in a hurry, so can you move aside?"  
  
"Why don't I just make time stop for you?" the last remaining gang member asked.  
  
"Huh?" asked Masahiro.  
  
'Joe' then brought out a gun and shot Masahiro right in the stomach. ~BANG!~  
  
The End.  
  
AU: Just kidding! The story still has a couple chapters to go ^_^ Review now, ya hear? Does Masahiro live or does he die? You'll have to find out in the next chapter! ^_~ 


	9. Endless Sleep

AU: Okay.u guys wouldn't let me kill him ( the last two chapters were a little sad v_v so is this one! Ok only a lil I promise ^_^ sorry this took so long. My mom was in the hospital.  
  
*disclaimer: I DO NOT own Saint Tail or any of its ORIGINAL characters but don't sue me for the NEW ones.  
  
Meimi checked in Dena's room once in a while as she watched her and Rohiroshi study. She then heard the phone ring and went over to pick it up. "Hello, Asuka residence," she said.  
  
"Meimi is that you?" said the voice of Sawatari in a rushed voice.  
  
"Yes, it is," said Meimi, concerned. "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Masahiro." Sawatari told Meimi the whole story as she listened.  
  
"I see. I'll tell Dena what's going on and we'll head over to the hospital right away," said Meimi, hanging up the phone. She hurried over to Dena's room and swung the door open. "Dena!" she exclaimed.  
  
Dena looked up. "What is it, Mom? Did Masahiro come in finally?" she asked.  
  
Meimi's eyes began to sparkle as if she was about to cry. "Dena, that was just Mr. Sawatari on the phone. Masahiro is in the hospital."  
  
"What?!" Both Dena and Rohiroshi asked.  
  
"His father said that he was shot in the stomach. We really should head over there right away," said Meimi, hoping that she put it in the best words possible.  
  
Rohiroshi saw Dena start to tremble all over her body followed by a collapse, though he was able to keep her from hitting the floor. "I would like to come too, if that isn't too much to ask," he said. Meimi nodded.  
  
At the hospital.  
  
Dena, Rohiroshi, and Meimi quickly hurried over to the emergency unit of the hospital, where Mr. Sawatari met them. "How is Masahiro?" Meimi asked, finding herself a seat.  
  
"I'm not sure yet. The doctors have been operating for a while, but they haven't said anything," said Mr. Sawatari.  
  
"Who.would do such a thing?" Dena asked in the faintest voice.  
  
"They did catch the kid who did it thankfully," said Mr. Sawatari, taking out a picture. "Here's a photo of the person."  
  
Dena took the picture and examined it closely. Her eyes then grew wide as she realized whom it was. "That's one of the gang members, the youngest one. So, he did this!" said Dena in a serious tone.  
  
Everyone looked over to the doors that the doctor just came out of. They all took their seats to see what he had to say. "Masahiro seems to be perfectly fine now, though." he trailed off.  
  
"Though what?" Meimi asked impatiently.  
  
"Well, he still hasn't woken up or showed any sign of movement. Hopefully he will within the next week," said the doctor.  
  
"Is it bad if he doesn't?" Dena asked, now trembling once more while she kept her grip onto Rohiroshi's arm.  
  
"No, it isn't bad at all. If he doesn't wake up within the next few days then we will conclude that he is in a coma."  
  
"I see," said Dena, loosening her grip as she looked down. She then quickly looked back up. "May I go see him now?" The doctor nodded and escorted Dena to Masahiro's room.  
  
She walked into the room where she saw the lifeless Masahiro laying down in his bed. "How long does a coma usually last?" Dena asked the doctor before he stepped out.  
  
"It depends," he said. "A coma can last from days to months and maybe even to years." He watched Dena's eyes begin to glitter as if tears were about to form. He then stepped outside to give her some alone time.  
  
Dena stepped over to sit on Masahiro's bed and take a hold of his hand. She whispered softly, "You have to wake up, Masahiro. You can't leave me alone."  
  
A few days later at school.  
  
Everyone gathered around at the usual spot once again to discuss the issue at hand. "Anything new yet?" Aivi asked Dena who was looking out the window.  
  
"I stopped by this morning, but Masahiro still hasn't awakened. He's as still as a rock," she replied.  
  
"He'll be fine, Asuka," said Tenkida as though she didn't want to say it. "Sawatari's not going to let something like a coma keep him from waking up. He's too afraid Azuma will take you away from him, heh."  
  
"T_T I'll take that as encouragement," said Dena, finally getting away from the window. "I'm going to visit him today with sister Seira if any of you would like to come."  
  
"I would like to," said Rohiroshi.  
  
"Yeah, us too," said Gyoko and Aivi in unison.  
  
Everyone then glared over at Tenkida. "O_O What are you all staring at?" she asked with a sweat drop. Everyone kept glaring at her as Tenkida just kept sweat dropping. She finally got the hint. "Alright, alright, I'll go!" Suddenly everyone's glares turned into freaky smiles.  
  
Back to the hospital.  
  
Dena and Seira walked in the room together where Masahiro's body lied still. Seira said a prayer in hope that he would wake up soon while Dena replaced his flowers. "Oh, Seira, will his eyes ever open again?" Dena asked as if she was losing hope.  
  
Seira looked at her saddened friend. "We can't give up yet. It's only been a few days. I'm sure Masahiro will awake soon."  
  
"But, he so silent and motionless," said Dena, now sitting on top of Masahiro's bed. "I can't help but wonder how long this coma will really last."  
  
Seira sat herself on a chair next to Masahiro's bed. She then took out a little photo from her sleeve and looked over to Dena. "Does Dark Rosary feel like working this week?" she asked.  
  
Dena looked back at Seira and replied with a question, "What is it?" Seira handed Dena the picture of an aqua marine colored brooch. It had a golden rim with an aqua marine colored ruby in the middle. "It's so beautiful."  
  
"Yes, it is very exquisite. That brooch was stolen from an elderly woman, Mrs. Matsumoto. It was going to be a gift for her granddaughter's 16th birthday," Seira explained. "It used to be her brooch when she was sixteen. Her grandmother had given it to her as well."  
  
"Oh, that's terrible!" Dena exclaimed. "What Jerk did that?"  
  
Seira put her finger up to quiet Dena down then took out another photo. " She believes it was this person," said Seira, "it's her youngest granddaughter. She is only twelve-years-old, so of course it wouldn't be right to go out and convict her. But being the kind hearted woman that she is, Mrs. Matsumoto couldn't convict her granddaughter either."  
  
"I see," said Dena. "The youngest one is jealous because her older sister gets that precious brooch. I would probably think of doing the same thing if I were her." Seira then had an inquisitive look on her face, and Dena knew exactly what she was thinking. "Hey, not that I would actually do it!"  
  
Dena stood up and went over to Seira. "Of, course I'll do it ^_^. It would help me get over being worried about Masahiro also, so I guess there's a little in it for me too."  
  
"Besides the thought that you did a good deed?" Seira asked.  
  
Dena sweat-dropped, "Uh, yeah."  
  
Rohiroshi, Tenkida, Gyoko, and Aivi all poked their heads through the door. "Are you guys done yet?" they all asked.  
  
"Yeah, Sister Seira and I are going to head out now ^_^," said Dena. She went over to Masahiro to pay him one last visit for the day and kissed his still forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow," she whispered.  
  
"Oh, gosh this mushy stuff is making me sick," said Tenkida.  
  
Asuka residence.  
  
"AGH! THIS IS HARD!!!!" Meimi heard coming from Dena's room.  
  
*What on earth was that?! * Meimi hurried up the stairs, down the hall and opened the door to Dena's room. "What's wrong? I think the next town could hear that yell," she said.  
  
"I think Dark Rosary has lost her touch," said Dena with pout in her voice and anime tears, while she lay sprawled on her bed.  
  
"What do you mean? She hasn't been caught and escaped from prison has she?" Meimi asked, taking a seat in one of Dena's chairs.  
  
"No, that would've been on the news for sure T_T," said Dena, now sitting upward. "I can't think of one good way to present my next calling card."  
  
"Oh.that would make me scream my lungs out too O_O" said Meimi sarcastically.  
  
"Well, then does the legendary Saint Tail have any ideas since she seems to think I'm a ridiculous amateur," said Dena, partly mocking and partly eager for an idea.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say ridiculous," said Meimi. "Let's see.how about the box lunch trick. That was always pretty popular."  
  
"Did it," said Dena.  
  
"Okay then," said Meimi, "How about a message in the sky."  
  
"Written in history books v_v," said Dena with a sigh.  
  
"Why don't you just stick a paper on her back then," said Meimi, running out of ideas.  
  
"I just did that one and only because Masahiro wasn't there to give me any ideas!" said Dena.  
  
* Wow, so that's whom she gets it from. And all this time I thought she got it from me * thought Meimi. *Sigh* "Okay, make it poof on her head."  
  
" Done T_T"  
  
"Desk poof?"  
  
"That one was funny."  
  
"Uh, I know! Make it look like she wrote on her hand! Hah, bet you didn't think of that one!" said Meimi, back to her kiddy self.  
  
"Actually, that's one of the very few I did come up with on my own," said Dena, slumping herself back on her bed.  
  
"Okay, let me see," said Meimi, thinking hard and seriously, "How about this then."  
  
Next Morning at school.  
  
Everyone sat quietly at their desks while sister Seira wrote down the lesson plan for the day. Rohiroshi noticed Dena taking two sets of notes when he looked over to her. "Uh, Dena, may I ask what you are doing?"  
  
"Well, just because Masahiro is in a coma, that doesn't mean he's going to get away with not studying. I'm taking his notes for him that way he has no excuse for falling behind," said Dena as she still scribbled down everything Sister Seira wrote.  
  
"I see," said Rohiroshi. * Masahiro never falls behind anyway. He's one of the smartest in this class. Oh well. *  
  
Tenkida dazed off as she took notes on her notebook. She stared right at her notebook but had not clue what she was writing. She just copied whatever Sister Seira put on the board. She finally did comprehend what she was writing when she heard Sister Seira say something extremely weird and found herself writing it, "Tonight I will be at the Matsumoto residence to steal a brooch- Dark Rosary."  
  
"Huh?!" the whole class asked. As shocked as they were, they couldn't help but laugh a little bit.  
  
"Uh." said Seira with a sweat drop. "Tenkida, I think this belongs to you."  
  
"O_O Boy.that's new," said Tenkida, remaining eye wide at the situation.  
  
Back at the hospital.(I promise just one more after this.)  
  
Dena went to go visit Masahiro before she went to go plan her night as Dark Rosary. She hoped that somehow Masahiro would awaken, but it was too good to be true. She still smiled and went over to his bedside. "I wish you would be there, Masahiro. Who's going to take my pictures, heh," she joked. "I'm going to get a brooch back tonight. It's very pretty. I can show you a picture once you wake up."  
  
Masahiro still didn't respond, and Dena frowned. "Well, I guess I better get going then. I'll see you later okay? I promise before visiting hours are over." With that, Dena hurried out of the room and got ready for show time.  
  
Matsumoto residence.  
  
Tenkida gathered some of her mother's best men at the Matsumoto residence. She was determined to catch Dark Rosary tonight. The only person who seemed to be home at the time was the culprit: Midori. Her parents were out on their anniversary and her sister was staying at her grandmother's. "So, kid, let me see this brooch that Dark Rosary wants so bad," said Tenkida to Midori.  
  
Midori carefully pulled out the beautiful brooch from her pocket. "Here, this is it," she said, handing it over to Tenkida.  
  
Tenkida examined the brooch carefully. *Wow, this is truly one of a kind. *  
  
"Masami Tenkida, I'm sorry, but I'll have to return that brooch to it's rightful owner," said the voice of Dark Rosary.  
  
Tenkida noticed the voice was awfully close, like it was right behind her. "The lights aren't off!" Tenkida shouted in excitement. She then turned around and said, "I got you now Dark Ro-" Tenkida's face then grew pale when she saw Dark Rosary dressed as a sumo wrestler. "Aaah! What the heck is that?"  
  
"Well, you said it yourself: Turning off the lights is getting old. I decided if I was to keep the lights on, I had to hide my face," said Dark Rosary as a matter of factly, holding up one of her fingers.  
  
Tenkida stayed silent for a while to get over the shock of seeing Dark Rosary in a sumo costume. "N-nice ensemble," she said with a sweat drop.  
  
"Why, thank you, but enough of that," said Dark Rosary. She then turned her attention over to Midori. "Midori Matsumoto, that brooch isn't yours to keep! You stole that from your grandmother didn't you?"  
  
"What?" Tenkida asked, turning her head over to Midori.  
  
Midori backed away in fright. "I- I- I didn't mean to! I mean I did mean to, but I wasn't going to do it, I swear! I was just upset that because I thought my grandma like my sister better than me. I was jealous," she said with tears starting to form.  
  
"Nobody likes feeling left out, and believe me I know what's like being the third wheel," Dark Rosary.  
  
"Oh, you do, do you?" said Tenkida suspiciously.  
  
* Ah, maybe I said too much! * Dark Rosary thought. "Yeah, everybody goes through it once in a while when they think someone likes someone else more than them."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tenkida replied, looking up at the ceiling.  
  
* Good save, Dena! * "But, the truth is, that person isn't choosing favorites. I'm sure your grandmother and your sister are really good friends also right?" Dark Rosary said to Midori.  
  
"Well, yeah," Midori said back, starting to reason with Dark Rosary's preaching.  
  
"Well, I'm sure that your grandmother likes you both the same, but she has a special relationship with your sister because she is her first granddaughter." *But, my case was different. way different, but I have to get that brooch back! *  
  
Midori finally got what Dark Rosary was saying. "I- I guess.you're right."  
  
"Great, so can I get that brooch back to your grandmother now?" Dark Rosary asked, holding out her hand.still in the Sumo getup ^_^;  
  
"Actually, I would like to give it back to my grandmother personally, so I can apologize," said Midori, looking down at the brooch. Dark Rosary nodded.  
  
Tenkida finally remembered that she still had to catch Dark Rosary. "H-hey! I still need to catch you!" she shouted, running towards Dark Rosary with her men behind her.  
  
Dark Rosary winked, "Nah, maybe next time," she said with a giggle. She then took out a bouquet of black roses and made weak paralysis powder come out, causing everyone to freeze for a few moments, allowing Dark Rosary to escape.  
  
"No! Get back here! DARK ROSARY!!" Tenkida shouted up.  
  
Back at the hospital(Last one!).  
  
Dena sat back at the bedside of Masahiro's bed. "I had a good night tonight, Masahiro. I feel like I actually helped somebody today," she said.  
  
Masahiro still gave Dena no response, and Dena couldn't take it anymore. Tears finally started to form on her face and her smile quickly turned into a frown. "Masahiro, are you ever going to wake up?" She plumped herself on the floor and grabbed onto Masahiro's hand. "Wake up, please? Masahiro, you can't leave me alone here."  
  
While Dena sat crying, inside Masahiro was fighting his long dream. * I don't get it * he thought. * I remember seeing that guy then everything went black. Am I dead?*  
  
Masahiro then heard someone crying from a far distance. * What is that? It sounds like.crying. Someone is crying, but who? *  
  
Masahiro kept walking around in his dream. * Is this real? Is this really where I am now? I don't want it to be. Someone is waiting for me, but I don't remember who. * Images of Dena then started flashing all over the place. "She's waiting for me! I have to go see Dena!" Masahiro finally said out lout.  
  
His eyes fluttered open as he heard Dena slowly crying until she finally yelled, "Masahiro, Please wake up!!"  
  
Masahiro took a paper fan out of nowhere and bonked Dena on the head. "This is a hospital!shhhh" he said. To the teary eyed girl rubbing the bump on her head.  
  
Dena finally got a slap from reality when she realized Masahiro was awake. She got up from the floor and went over to hug Masahiro as long as she can. "I was afraid you'd never wake up!" she said, still in tears.  
  
Masahiro returned Dena's hug, "Nah, Rohiroshi might snatch you," he joked with a smile on his face.  
  
* sometimes Tenkida scares meT_T * thought Dena.  
  
Next morning at school.  
  
" So, Sawatari's finally awake, huh?" Tenkida asked the happier than usual Dena.  
  
"Yeah, he should be out of the hospital next week," said Dena with rosy cheeks.  
  
"That's a relief," said Tenkida out of the blue.  
  
"Huh?" Dena asked with a confused look.  
  
"Well, you'll finally be back to normal and start biting my head off again," Tenkida replied, walking towards the window.  
  
"O_O You actually like that?!" Dena exclaimed with few hair strands sticking out.  
  
"I just miss the old Asuka, that's all." Tenkida folded her and turned around. "You're so boring when you're depressed. I don't like when my friends are sad."  
  
Dena took that last sentence as a surprise. "You count me as a friend?" she asked.  
  
Tenkida ignored the question. "Class is about to start," she said, walking to her desk. Dena smiled and thought about how things were changing.  
  
AU: Okay, okay! I know that took a looooooong time, but like I said, my mom was in the hospital. But on the bright side is, it helped my hospital knowledge a little better ^_^ (don't worry my mom wasn't in a coma, but believe me don't ask.) Anyways.I would just like to thank my best friends Gretchen for helping me with my writer's block. Now, go review ^_^ 


	10. Secrets Revealed

AN: Hello everyone.... This is going to be the last chapter of The Next Generation, but I'm thinking of putting an epilogue. Haven't decided yet. School started so sorry this was a little late. Well... enjoy the show ^_^ ............................................................................ ..............  
  
Masahiro was finally let out of the hospital and was back in school where he had tons of makeup work. Lucky for him, Dena took all of his notes while he was in a coma. The day started as normal except for the fact that Dena and Masahiro were dropped off at school by car due to the fact the Masahiro wasn't fully recovered. It was pretty quiet that day. Rohiroshi was absent, so Gyoko didn't talk to offend Tenkida. Since no one spoke anything to or about Tenkida she stayed quiet as well which made Aivi not speak a word either. So, basically Dena and Masahiro were the only ones that actually spoke, though they finally got everyone else to talk as well. It was lunchtime for crying out loud. "Boy, how quiet it can get when one of us is absent ^_^," said Dena to everyone around her.  
  
Gyoko and Tenkida still stayed quiet, but Aivi decided it was no time to be quiet, that was for class. "Yeah, where on earth is Rohiroshi anyway? He's never been absent to school before. Gyoko, did he say anything to you?"  
  
Everybody looked at Gyoko as if she was hiding something, causing her to sweat drop. She decided that it was finally time for her to speak up. "No, he didn't tell me anything." Everyone still had questionable looks on their faces as they still stared over to Gyoko. " ^_^; Honestly, I know nothing. Stop staring at me like that already! Why are you staring at me like that anyway?"  
  
"You know something," said Tenkida, looking closer over to Gyoko, "Rohiroshi and Gyoko have been spending a lot of time together."  
  
Gyoko turned red. "What are you getting at?" she asked.  
  
Aivi, Tenkida, and Dena pulled Gyoko over to the corner, leaving Masahiro by the window all alone. "Sorry, Sawatari, it's girl talk time!" shouted Tenkida across the hall. She then turned her attention over to Gyoko. "Spill it, Gyoko. Are you and Rohiroshi, you know: dating?"  
  
"What?! Where in the world did you get that ridiculous prediction?!" Gyoko exclaimed.  
  
Dena's eyes grew wide as she gasped with excitement. "You guys hear that? She and Rohiroshi are dating!"  
  
Gyoko sweat dropped once more. "Am I not getting through to you people? T_T We're not dating!"  
  
"Oh we're so happy for you, Gyoko!" shouted both Dena and Aivi, giving their friend a nice big, tight hug. Gyoko could see that they weren't getting it through their thick heads that there was nothing going on between her and Rohiroshi.  
  
Rohiroshi had finally come into the classroom. He walked over to the lonely and confused Masahiro. Then glanced over to the hugging girls in the corner, though Tenkida just stood there with her arms crossed. He turned his attention back over to Masahiro who looked even more confused than ever. "Um, did I miss something?" he asked.  
  
Masahiro's blind self finally noticed Rohiroshi and comprehended what he had just asked. "Besides half a day of school you mean?" he replied. Rohiroshi nodded. "Well, the girls are talking about something over there," he pointed.  
  
"Any clue what?" Rohiroshi asked.  
  
"From what it looks like... They're all still talking about you. Yeah, they think you and Gyoko are secretly dating or something like that," said Masahiro, leaning himself on the wall.  
  
"Well, that's odd," said Rohiroshi. "I wonder where they got that silly idea."  
  
The girls finally noticed Rohiroshi talking to Masahiro and made their way over to him. "Where have you been all day?" Aivi asked. "Doctor's appointment?"  
  
"Not exactly," said Rohiroshi. He glanced over to Dena * I see you haven't told them. * "I'll tell you all later." Dena nodded and frowned. She knew that meant "we'll tell you all later."  
  
After School...  
  
Rohiroshi decided to walk Gyoko home that day and decided that first he had to tell her something. Masahiro and Dena, being their devious selves, decided to follow the two to see what they were up to. " This isn't right, Dena," said Masahiro, who was hiding with Dena in a nearby bush where Rohiroshi were sitting on a bench.  
  
Dena looked back at Masahiro. "What are you talking about?!" she asked. " This whole thing was your idea!"  
  
"Well, it was a joke! You're the one who took it seriously," Masahiro replied back.  
  
The couple looked through the bushes to see what was going on between the two people on the bench. Rohiroshi looked serious at Gyoko who seemed confused and wasn't sure if he was upset or not. "Rohiroshi, is something bothering you?"  
  
Rohiroshi just stared at Gyoko with sadness in his eyes. "Gyoko, I..." words didn't come after that. Rohiroshi choked. He then took Gyoko's hand and brought his face closer to hers, and in a split second he gave her a short, but sweet kiss. "I have something I need to tell you."  
  
Gyoko had a very deep red blush on her face, but didn't turn away from Rohiroshi. "What was that for Rohiroshi?"  
  
"It might be the last time I'll be able to do that for a while," he said. Gyoko looked at him with worry in her eyes as if she had a feeling of what Rohiroshi was trying to tell her. Rohiroshi saw the look on Gyoko's face, which made him squeeze her hand tighter. "I'm going somewhere," he finally said.  
  
Masahiro and Dena both heard and saw everything that had happened. Dena showed no sign of worry or shock, which was the opposite for Masahiro. He was both worried and shocked, not to mention extremely confused. "What's Rohiroshi saying?" he whispered. "Is trying to say that he's..."  
  
Gyoko still wondered what was going on but had a slight feeling. She decided to try to guess something that hopefully was the case. "You mean you're going on vacation?" Rohiroshi shook his head no. Gyoko finally knew what was going on and tears formed in her eyes. "Where?"  
  
Rohiroshi took out his handkerchief and wiped Gyoko's eyes with it. "London," he said. "I'll come back, Gyoko, I promise I will." Gyoko's tears came down faster and harder once she heard the words. Rohiroshi watched sadly as she cried, but explained to her, "Father promised me I would be able to stay here for a while but apparently I was wrong. He got re- stationed to London. We're leaving in 3 weeks." Gyoko tried to restrain her tears from falling, but it couldn't be helped. She went closer to Rohiroshi and embraced him in a hug as he let her cry on him.  
  
Dena turned with a long face as she headed quietly out of the bushes as Masahiro followed. She ran far, without Rohiroshi or Gyoko noticing and stared down to the ground. Masahiro finally caught up with her and stopped to catch his breath. "I can't believe Rohiroshi is going all the way to London. And poor Gyoko looked so upset," he said. He looked up and saw that Dena had made no move whatsoever. He walked over to her and saw that she was looking down as if she was in deep thought. He put his hand on her shoulder, which made her look up. " I don't know what I would do if you were to move that far away. I've known you all my life, Dena," he said with a smile.  
  
Dena showed a fake smile. " I have to go, Masahiro," she said.  
  
"You want me to walk you home?" he asked.  
  
Dena shook her head. "No, I'm not going home just yet. I just need some alone time." Dena ran up to Masahiro and gave him a peck on the cheek, which made him blush. She quickly hurried off to where she was going as Masahiro watched. He had the strangest feeling that something was bothering her.  
  
Dena ran over to the Pandora Fortune Teller shop where she went to go meet Mayu. Mayu was where her crystal ball was and motioned for Dena to sit down. "It's not like you to keep something from Sawatari, Dena."  
  
"I know... Wait how'd you know?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Am I not a psychic?" she inquired. Dena nodded. "Now why have you come?"  
  
"The truth is, I need a favor from you..."  
  
At the Chapel...  
  
"I see," said Seira to Dena. "Well then, I have one last lost lamb for you to save."  
  
Seira took out a photo of a golden fan with diamonds at the ends. "Hey, I've seen that at the museum before. It was supposed to belong to a Empress of China," said Dena.  
  
"This one is a fake," said Seira. She took out another picture. "Compare the fake and the real fan."  
  
Dena examined the two photos closely and looked at them for several seconds. "I can't see any difference at all"  
  
"Exactly," said Seira as she put the photos away. "One of the workers of the museum came to me a couple of nights ago. He said he had witnessed the switch since he was on the nightshift. It seems that the caretaker of the museum had switched the priceless artifact with the fake. The worker was of course afraid to go to the police."  
  
"I see... I just have to prove that the one in the museum is a fake."  
  
"You also have to bring the culprit to justice, Dena" said Seira.  
  
Dena nodded. "Yes, I have to go, Seira! I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she started to head home.  
  
Next Day at School...  
  
Everyone seemed to be at school that day, but there seemed to be something different about that day. It was extremely quiet. Nobody seemed to talk. Gyoko was the most silent of them all, followed by Dena and Rohiroshi. The class area near the window was almost like a ghost town. Three of our members had no clue of what was going on. Aivi, Masahiro, and Tenkida seemed a bit confused at the situation and decided to call a "side group" meeting. "Okay, those three are hiding something," said Aivi.  
  
"Yeah, and that eerie silence is giving me the creeps," said Masahiro with a playful tremble.  
  
Tenkida thought for a moment. "Okay, here's what we're going to do." Aivi and Masahiro closed in to listen. "Sawatari, you take Asuka. Aivi, you take Gyoko. And I'll take Azuma"  
  
"Right," said both and Masahiro and Aivi at the same time.  
  
Masahiro walked over to the more quiet than usual Dena. He sat right next to her as she laid her head down on her desk. "Dena, can we talk?" he asked.  
  
"Not right now, Masahiro," she said.  
  
"Okay. Then, how about after school? I'll buy you a shake," he said.  
  
"I have to go home early today."  
  
"How about while I walk you home then?"  
  
"If you don't mind, I'd rather walk alone today," she finally said. She then walked over to where Tenkida and Aivi were. Tenkida had taken out a binder that Dena had never recognized before. She then opened it up to reveal every single calling card that Dark Rosary had ever sent to her, whether it be the calling card itself or just a picture of it. "What the heck?! You keep every single calling card in a scrapbook?!" Dena exclaimed.  
  
"Well, of course I do," said Tenkida.  
  
Aivi looked at the scrapbook. She then pointed to a certain calling card. "Hey, I don't remember that one," she said.  
  
"Huh?" Tenkida said. She then looked at the calling card Aivi was pointing to. "Hey, I don't remember it either. In fact, I think that's new." She then read it, "Friday night I will come for the Empress' Fan at Museum A- Dark Rosary."  
  
"Yup, that's new alright," said Aivi.  
  
After school...  
  
After school everyone went home. Gyoko and Rohiroshi walked home together, while Aivi and Tenkida walked to the coffee shop. Masahiro and Dena on the other hand, went their separate ways. Masahiro decided to try Dena one more time, since he was determined to get something out of her. Dena turned around one last time to give Masahiro a smile assuring him that soon they could talk, then she headed on her way. Before She could get passed the flag poll, Masahiro grabbed Dena's hand. "Something is bothering you, I know it," he said, "We've barely been able to talk. What's going on, Dena?"  
  
Dena put a saddened look on her face, but gave Masahiro another smile quickly after that. "I promise, you'll know soon," she said. Dena then started once again to head home, alone.  
  
Masahiro watched her walk off and replayed her face expression through his head. He noticed the same thing, sad to suddenly happy. He decided he should just head to Dena's home and pay her a surprise visit, or maybe just talk to her mom. He walked down the street, making sure that he avoided the alleyways this time (haha) and headed over to Dena's house and knocked on the door. Meimi had answered the door, opening it widely, and then noticed it was Masahiro and quickly closed the door, leaving but a small crack. "Masahiro... this is a surprise. We weren't expecting you today," she said.  
  
"Mrs. Asuka, Is there something that I should know about?" Masahiro asked. "Dena has been acting really strange and she won't tell me what's wrong."  
  
"I see. So she hasn't told you yet," said Meimi, slowly opening the door. Masahiro stepped into the Asuka residence where he noticed a lot of boxes. His heart started pounding in fear as he thought of the worst, hoping that it wasn't the case. Meimi led him up the stairs and to the door of Dena's room and knocked on the door. "Dena, there's someone here to see you.  
  
Dena heard her mom and headed over to open the door, thinking that it was Rohiroshi maybe. But, it wasn't. She opened the door where she saw Masahiro standing. She watched, as he slowly looked at all the packed up boxes in her room. Dena looked up to her mom, which gave Meimi the sign to leave. Masahiro's knees collapsed at the doorway after seeing what he saw. Dena joined him on the floor and tried her best to find words to say, but found nothing and stayed silent. She finally couldn't stand the silence anymore. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't want to tell you like this, but I couldn't even find the courage to tell you."  
  
Masahiro stared down at the ground as he listened to Dena. "You're going with Rohiroshi, aren't you?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, our whole family is. Rohiroshi's dad got re-stationed and my dad got transferred. We thought it would be perfect to just rent one big house to live in, that way, me and Rohiroshi could go to the same school and not be alone," she said. Dena noticed Masahiro was still looking down and knew that he didn't want to face her right now. "Masahiro, please look at me."  
  
Masahiro then looked up at Dena, with tears running down his cheeks. He grabbed Dena and embraced her with a hug. "You can't go," he said, "please... don't leave! We've never spent one day away from each other. Even if we were fighting, we would at least see each other." Dena returned the hug and realized for once, she had to be the strong one, but she didn't know how. She decided to just stay held in Masahiro's arms for a while until the sadness stopped. (uhh, that could be a while. What? Someone has to put humor in here! Anyone notice that characters in here are big crybabies? )  
  
Museum A...  
  
Tenkida was just finishing her conversation with Masahiro, who told her everything upon Dena's request. " I see. So Asuka and Azuma are moving to Europe. I'd think that you would spend these last few weeks with her, Sawatari," she said to the saddened Masahiro.  
  
"I know, but she said that I have to go because it's my job," said Masahiro with a sigh.  
  
"Boy, is she stern."  
  
Tenkida had her men gathered around all sides of the museum, including the top, and also had some men circling around the fan. The caretaker stood with beaded drops of sweat on his face as everyone waited for Dark Rosary to show up. Not to everyone's surprise, Dark Rosary went back to her old ways of switching off the lights. "Hey everybody! You miss me?" she asked sarcastically.  
  
"Some of us," Tenkida replied with the same sarcastic tone. "Why is it that you've come to actually steal this time, Dark Rosary?"  
  
"Well, I'll show you ^_^," said Dark Rosary, pouring sleeping powder on the guards who were bravely surrounding the "diamond fan". Tenkida tried to run up to Dark Rosary to catch a glimpse of her face before she took out the "priceless artifact". To her misfortune, Tenkida tripped over an invisible wire that Dark Rosary had placed before hand. Dark Rosary took out the fan and headed about three feet off the ground with her balloons. "Observe," she said. She dropped the fan from the air as everyone watched it to hit the ground.  
  
Tenkida saw that the diamonds on the fan had shattered. "It broke!" she exclaimed.  
  
The caretaker then rose and pointed his finger to Dark Rosary. "That was a priceless artifact, and you broke it! Now you are truly a thief!" he accused.  
  
"I don't think so!" said Tenkida. "Men, arrest him for embezzlement and fraud!"  
  
"What?!" the caretaker asked.  
  
"If you haven't forgotten already, Mr. Caretaker, a diamond is indestructible! ^_~" said Dark Rosary. "In other words... it can't break and glass can, proving that the fan on display was nothing but a fraud. So bye bye, Mr. Caretaker. Don't forget to write from prison." Dark Rosary started to head up to the rooftops and was ready to leave. Tenkida didn't even bother to capture her this time since she was more focused on the sneaky caretaker.  
  
Train station 3 weeks later...(ok I no that was quick, but mom is nagging me to get off .)  
  
Meimi, Detective Asuka, and Rohiroshi's dad were already on the train, waiting for the kids to say good-bye to their friends. Aivi gave hugs to both Dena and Rohiroshi and warned about the consequences for not writing. Tenkida just gave a simple wave and one last knock on the head for Dena. Gyoko hugged Dena and Rohiroshi and gave Rohiroshi a small locket with her picture in it. He once again promised that he would come back and Dena was going to come back with him. Then last but not least: Masahiro. Masahiro embraced Dena one last time before he left. "Don't be gone too long, Dena," he said.  
  
"I promised I won't," she said. She gave him one last kiss on the cheek as Meimi and Mr. Azuma tried to restrain Detective Asuka from going down and a pounding Masahiro. Dena made her way in the train where she went to wait with the parents for Rohiroshi.  
  
Masahiro and Rohiroshi shook each other's hands. " Rohiroshi, promise me that you'll take care of her," Masahiro said.  
  
"I promise, just as long as you promise me that you'll take care of Gyoko for me," Rohiroshi replied.  
  
"It's a deal," said Masahiro with a smile. They shook hands one more time then everyone watched as Rohiroshi headed up the train to join Dena and the parents.  
  
2 weeks later at school...  
  
Tenkida walked up to Gyoko, Masahiro, and Aivi, who were quizzing each other for the up coming English test. "So, any of you hear from Asuka or Azuma?"  
  
"Yeah, they said that school is a little harder there, but other than that, they're doing perfectly fine," said Masahiro. Tenkida motioned for Masahiro to join him by the window. "What's up?" he asked when got over there.  
  
"Looks like I'll never get a chance to capture her now," said Tenkida.  
  
Masahiro acted confused. "Um, who?" he asked.  
  
"Dark Rosary of course. You notice that ever since Asuka left, I haven't gotten a single calling card from Dark Rosary. I'm right, aren't I, Masahiro? Asuka is Dark Rosary," Tenkida replied.  
  
"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about," said Masahiro with a sweat drop.  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Tenkida asked, putting her hand in her pocket, "Then how come- huh?" Tenkida pulled a paper out of her pocket. "Tomorrow night, I will come for the Pharaoh's staff at Museum B- Dark Rosary."  
  
"I guess Dena flew all the way over just to put that in your pocket then, eh, Tenkida?" Masahiro asked sarcastically.  
  
"How on Earth?!" Tenkida exclaimed.  
  
Mayu Sendo was outside, sitting on a tree, "Anything for the girl who got me out of prison ^_~" she said.  
  
The End **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** **************** AN: So, how'd you guys like the ending? Epilogue? No? Please review this last chapter of The Next Generation. Ja Ne ^_~ 


	11. Epilogue

EPILOGUE  
  
Eight years later, two very familiar figures came down to meet three more people in front of a very familiar chapel. Dena and Rohiroshi had finally come back from London, right after graduating from college. They met up with Masahiro, Aivi, and Tenkida in front of the chapel near St. Paulia School. Dena ran up to Masahiro and gave him a very tight embrace as he returned it. " Are you staying here for good now?" Masahiro asked, still holding onto the now grown up Dena, who had her long, silky green hair back.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere ever again, Masahiro," replied Dena.  
  
Aivi and Tenkida went over to Rohiroshi and gave him some comfort. Rohiroshi smiled at the girls for their efforts but quickly went back to a frown. "I took too long. She waited as long as she could for me, but I came too late. She finally succumbed to her leukemia," he said with a sad tone.  
  
"Stop blaming yourself, Rohiroshi," said Aivi, "Once you found out about her sickness, you caught the first plane over here and stayed by Gyoko's side until the very end."  
  
Rohiroshi put on a weak smile. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up, you two."  
  
The group headed into the chapel, where they found Sister Seira and Mayu Sendo sitting at the far end, where they were waiting for Dena and the others. Rohiroshi and Dena were ecstatic to see two more faces that they new and hurried over to greet the nun and fortuneteller. "It's been too long," said Seira as she went over and hugged Dena.  
  
"I found Masahiro coming to my shop every day right after you left. Please do me a favor and don't leave again," said Mayu.  
  
"No, I won't," said Dena, smiling and shaking her head. "I'm so happy to see you all again."  
  
"As are we," said Seira with a warm smile on her face.  
  
"Now, I believe you have a date with Dena, Masahiro," said Aivi, pushing Masahiro towards Dena. She slipped a box into Masahiro's pocket and whispered to him, "You can do it!" She then took the couple and led them out of the chapel, so they could have some alone time.  
  
Masahiro watched as Aivi left and took a big gulp. He grabbed onto Dena's hand and started to walk her somewhere. He walked her over across the street, where she used to almost get ran over everyday, then over to the park, where Dena and he would eat pork buns together. He finally led Dena over to a small sandbox that had nothing but a pale and a shovel in it. "This is where I want to go," said Masahiro.  
  
"This sandbox?" Dena asked, with a confused look on her face.  
  
"Yeah," replied Masahiro, "Don't you remember? This was the very place where we decided to be best friends."  
  
Dena then replayed the memory through her head:  
  
//// It was eighteen years ago at that very sandbox. Dena and Masahiro were building a castle together, since their parents had brought them to go play with each other. Dena helped decorate the castle, while Masahiro was constructing it. "We're running out of decorations. I'll go over there and get some more," said Dena, pointing over to the far bushes. Masahiro nodded as she went over gather some more things for the castle.  
  
Masahiro continued to build until he heard a scream coming over from where Dena was. He then saw Dena quickly sprinting over to him, while panting heavily. "What's wrong?" he asked his breathless friend.  
  
Dena finally started to breath normally again and looked over to the bushes. "A bee was trying to get me," she said.  
  
Dena then put on a terrified look on her face when she saw that the bee was on her arm. She trembled in fear as she watched the bee buzz around on her arm. Masahiro saw the bee and looked at Dena shaking with fear. He then took one gulp of courage and grabbed the bee in his hand. He then felt the sting of the bee and yelped in pain, "OUCH!!!" he quickly let go of the bee and looked over to Dena. "You're safe now. A bumble bee can only sting you once."  
  
"Masahiro, you're hurt. Why'd you do that?" Dena asked, taking a hold of Masahiro's hand to examine it.  
  
"That bee was going to hurt you. I saw how scared you were, and I didn't want you to get hurt. No bee's going to scare me," said Masahiro.  
  
"You did that for me?" Dena asked. She wrapped up Masahiro's sting and gave him a warm hug, "from now on, you're my best friend, Masahiro ^_^" \\\\  
  
Dena smiled at the memory and took Masahiro's hand. "Yes, I remember it very well," she said.  
  
"We started a new relationship that day, Dena," said Masahiro, reaching into his pocket. " I was hoping we could start another new relationship there."  
  
Dena blushed and looked at the box in Masahiro's hand. "What are you saying?" she asked.  
  
Masahiro took one last gulp and opened the box. "Dena Asuka, will you marry me?" Masahiro asked.  
  
Dena's eyes filled with tears as she smiled at the same time. "Yes!" she replied.  
  
"Really?!"  
  
"Yes, Masahiro." Dena went up to Masahiro and gave him a hug, followed by their first kiss. Masahiro had a deep blushed but still managed to smile. "Now, we'll be together forever."  
  
"I was hoping you would say that," said Masahiro, holding Dena in his arms.  
  
WELL, THAT WAS THE EPILOGUE ^_^ PLEASE REVIEW. IT WOULD BE COOL IF SOMEONE WROTE A SEQUEL TO THIS STORY ALSO HEHE. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING ** SAINT TAIL: THE NEXT GENERATION** 


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